Balthazar of the BLAC
by desoldeben
Summary: Balthazar is no hero. He has no godlike powers or skills. He has no secret past. He's nobody noteworthy. He had been an orphan, a poor street boy and finally a thief. But now, he won't even stay a thief anymore. He is going to become something infinitely tougher: a student in Beacon. Parallel to Team RWBY storyline, without interfering with canon as much as possible.
1. Chapter 1: Unemployment

**DISCLAIMER: Those that ought to belong to others shall belong to their respective owners. Those that ought to belong to me, if any, shall belong to me.**

-x-x-x-x-

Dust, dust, dust. Dust was all the rage these days.

Which kind of sucked, because Schnee Dust Company was a really tough corporation to steal from. Still, a beggar does not get to be choosers and neither did a freelancer thief. If my client wanted a cartload of Schnee Dust, that was what I needed to procure.

'_Breaker, are you quite done there_?' Harmony's voice buzzed into my earpiece and nearly shattered my concentration. I pulled my hands immediately from the security console, afraid of accidentally tripping the alarm.

I swore. 'For Remnant's sake, Harmony. Heard of radio silence? You almost ruined the whole operation here.' Steadying my shaking hands, I returned to the console. I wanted to get this over with, if just to shut Harmony up.

'_If the operation gets thrashed now, it will be your fault, not mine. Hurry the fuck up; it's freezing up here._' The sound of rushing wind could be heard from the other end of the communication.

'All you are doing is sitting on your ass in the airship anyway. Now shut up and let me do this in peace.' Before she could get the last comment, I cut the connection; I could not afford distractions.

A couple moments later, the facility security crumbled before my will. Aerial gates should no longer need security verification to be opened. 'Lovely, I can finally go home.'

'Not if I can help it,' said the voice, feminine, behind me. Aw, shit. I have not even been aware of her presence. As subtly as possible, I whispered a command into my mouthpiece. Then I began counting under my breath.

Knowing the protocol, I raised my hands slowly. From my past experiences, I had no doubt that there was a weapon trained on me. Schnee Dust Company security forces did not joke around.

'Turn around, so I can see you,' my captor ordered.

At the command, I felt myself ease a little. You see, a veteran never gave a foolish order like that. An enemy that cannot see you is an enemy that has harder time attacking you. Either this woman was a really, really good in a fight or she was inexperienced. If it was the former case, well, I was already screwed to a point where my situation could not worsen. However, if it was the latter, it meant a chance for me to escape.

Slowly, I complied with her orders. The moment I was face to face with my captor, I took note of details. Pretty was the first thing that popped into my mind, I admit. I quashed that one immediately; I prided myself in being professional. She looked about my age, between sixteen and eighteen. That was a silver lining; she was new to the job after all. There was a rapier in her hands, the tip inches from my throat; a bad news since my light armor had no chance standing up to something like that, not that the armor protected my throat anyway. A glimpse at her security clearance tag told me she had the highest level of clearance. She must have powerful family ties for her to have that so young.

However, nothing I could see about her could tell me the one thing I was most interested in: how good she was in a fight. It was highly unlikely she had Beacon Academy training; too young for that. The best she could have had was Signal training but that was enough to kick my ass into next week.

Her command was steady, suggesting she had confidence if a fight was to ensue. 'Lift your visor; I want to see your face.' Shit, that could prove problematic.

'Are you sure? You are going to let me freely move my hand?' At my question, I could see her waver a bit.

'Never mind then. Just keep them high in the air.'

Thank goodness, I managed to keep my visor on. 'Yes, ma'am.'

'How many of you are there?' she asked. It looked like she has heard my little chat with Harmony. I should really maintain my radio silence next time; if I had a next time.

I was about to feign ignorance when a large explosion rocked overhead on the ceiling, shaking both of us off our feet. Seriously, what kept them so long? Without wasting a moment, I tossed a flashbang grenade between us and switched off my sensors. See, that's why I wanted my visor on. My visions became dark and my auditory senses were blocked.

Once I turned my sensors back on, which was about five seconds later, I took note of the girl's condition. As expected, she was disoriented as all hell, vomiting her insides out. I felt a bit sorry for her; my flashbangs were heavily augmented, designed to stun even those who had training to resist its effect. This girl clearly was not trained in that. Still, it was not going to do any permanent damage.

I reconnected my radio. 'You guys were twenty seconds late. It was supposed to be two minutes once I input the command.' As I looked up, I could see Harmony making her way down the cable with the magnetic clamp.

'_Don't try to hide your incompetence by yelling at us, Breaker. You know you owe us one.' _I could see Harmony's silhouette blowing me a kiss from the top of the target crate. With great efficiency, she secured the cargo before the tossing me a rope. '_Think you can stomach the ride? I don't want you puking all over the airship floor like the last time.'_

'I had the sensors off this time; let's just get out of here,' I snarled.

Whatever smart comeback Harmony had in store for me – I had no doubt she had one – was quelled by an explosion. The force of the blast was not as great as the one that blew the hole in the ceiling but it still knocked me off my feet.

'What the hell?' As I got to my feet, I realised that the explosions were ongoing. Uh oh.

'_Breaker, it's a fucking chain explosion. Get the hell here!' _For once, there was no hint of jest in Harmony's voice. I guess the situation warranted it.

A chain explosion was a situation when all the dust in the storage began exploding continuously, triggered by each other. It would not stop until there was but an inferno left. In a warehouse this big, that meant a catastrophe.

I ran like my life depended on it and reached Harmony in a record breaking time. The crate immediately began to ascend to the airship. It looked like we are going to make it. It was unlikely the chain explosion would progress to a stage that could hurt us before we left; while it was devastating near the end, its buildup at the start was rather slow.

In the comfortable embrace of relative safety, my mind was able to perform higher order thinking instead of just primitive stuff like "run like hell". Why would a chain explosion occur? It was one of the biggest threats to a dust storage facility and therefore, there should have been thousands of countermeasures in place to ensure its prevention. Even blowing a hole through the roof should not have been sufficient to trigger it. Unless…

Unless when I disabled the security, I did away with the safety measures as well.

Now, I just felt bad. Chain explosion was going to cause Schnee Dust Company astronomical losses. Some people were going to become unemployed over this issue. At least there won't be any personnel losses, though. The warehouse was empty.

My chest thumped as if it was hit by a sledgehammer. Oh shit. The girl that found me was still down there. I looked down where I last saw her and sure enough, she was still down there, completely unable to stand. Aw crap. I judged the distance to the ground. I could still make the jump without injuring myself. I unbuckled the cable from my harness.

'What the hell are you doing?' Harmony shrieked, as if I have gone mad. She gripped my wrist like iron, making sure I would not fall.

'The girl who caught me, she's still down there!' I pointed towards the prone figure, diverting her attention. Harmony took a glance then turned her gaze back to me. There was a hard flint in her eyes.

'If you jump, we can't wait for you.' She spoke with chilling finality. My spine tingled. I took another look at the ground. I had maybe five seconds to make up my mind. After that, the jump would probably injure me to a point where I would just end up dying in the ensuing conflagration anyway.

I took another look at the girl and hardened my resolve. 'Make sure client pays my share, alright? I don't want to be doing charity after all this horseshit.' Without another moment of hesitation, I jumped.

The jump did not break a bone or anything but, Remnant, it hurt. I grimaced for a second or two to suppress the pain. A brief look back to the ascending cargo informed me that Harmony meant her words. I did not blame her; one of us had to complete the job. It was just that I was the naïve one for not wanting a death on my hands.

Realising that the interval between the explosions was getting shorter, I made my way to the girl in a hurry. Holy hell, she was a mess. She was barely awake. From her weak fumbling, I assumed she was still blind and deaf. My flashbangs took awhile to wear off.

Deciding that explanation was too time-consuming and pointless, I opted to just sling her over my shoulder. She barely put up any resistance. It was possible she was not even aware she was being carried since the grenade messed up one's sense of balance as well. I was saved from having to abandon the rapier as the girl simply refused to let it go despite her disoriented state.

Thank goodness she was so light; the strain on my legs was just barely tolerable.

The rhythm of the explosions picked up the pace; the chain explosion was entering the second half of its destructive symphony. The duration of that was much shorter than the first half so I hastened my movements as well. Judging that leaving by the front door was a luxury I could not afford, I made my way to the nearest window.

You know, since Fortune has been such a bitch to me the whole day, you might expect it to show me a favor once, right? Nope. As luck would have it, we were on the third floor of the warehouse. I would have been happy with being on the second floor. Maybe even a two-point-five.

I guess it could have been my fault for forgetting that I was three storeys from the ground.

If there was even a trace of a chance for me to make my way downstairs in time, I would have taken it. As it were, there were already pinpricks of heat on my skin. The fiery orchestra was approaching its finale and no way was I sticking around for that.

I took a rough estimate to the ground; there was no way I would be fine after this. I readjusted my grip on the girl so as to reduce the damage she might receive on landing. Then I hardened my resolve for the second time this evening and jumped.

In the end, I never found out how much time I had before the final, all-consuming explosion. The moment I slammed into the ground, my world went dark.

And that is how my criminal career came to an end.


	2. Chapter 2: Homeless

**DISCLAIMER: Those that ought to belong to others shall belong to their respective owners. Those that ought to belong to me, if any, shall belong to me.**

-x-x-x-x-

Homeless

Once you've been to one interrogation room, you pretty much have been to them all.

The cheap light bulb, check. The tiny rectangular table under the light, check. Two flimsy collapsible chairs facing each other, check. The dark one-way mirror on one wall, check. It was like they copied the interior design guide from an interrogation room manual and pasted it onto reality.

I was getting pretty familiar with the crooks and crannies of this one as, for some reason, they were keeping me longer they needed to.

After I had awakened in hospital, they quickly frisked me into this room and tried to squeeze as much information out of me as possible. I gave them details of my current alias, fully aware that I was never going to be able to use that one again; too many people from Schnee Company was going to know me by that identity.

One good thing the chain explosion did was that it pretty much eradicated all evidence of our crime. In fact, they did not even know that one crate of dust was currently under my client's care. I kept mum throughout our conversation and eventually, they convinced themselves that I was there to sabotage the facility. They informed me how serious a crime sabotage was – much more serious than burglary, as it turned out – and told me to mull over my options and cooperate to lessen my sentence.

That was hours ago. They have not returned to see if I was willing to cooperate or not. Not that I was going to, mind you. Like I said, I was a professional.

I was dozing off to catch up on my missed sleep last night when the click of the door awakened me. I rubbed the sleepiness off the eyes and found that I had visitors. My visitors consisted of a man with a walking stick and a woman in a purple cape. Interesting. You did not really see capes these days.

It was obvious these two were not the police. Police never looked at me with such eyes. Their eyes would either contain disdain or pity, emotions meant for those they considered their inferior. These people did not show those. The lady perceived me as a potential threat, her guards up. The man's eyes, on the other hand, had a gleam of a man who saw a potential investment. A client, then.

I sat upright, recognizing a possible opportunity when I saw one. 'Nice to meet you. You can call me Bectus.' I gave a polite greeting, giving my false name.

'Good evening, Bectus. Well, I expected quite a few things but politeness was not one of them.' He chuckled.

'I believe in leaving good first impressions in a business meeting.'

'A business meeting, you say? And what sort of business would that be?' Huh. Well, that was odd. My clients tended to be more subtle. They did not like making direct comments on what they wanted me to do.

I glimpsed at various corners of the wall, worried about the recording devices. They did not seem like the police but I had no way of being certain of that. Maybe this was an elaborate ploy to get a confession out of me. I decided to keep my mouth shut to the last question.

'No answer, is it?' The man asked. Suddenly, his eyes seemed much more piercing, more perceptive. 'Alright then. Let me ask something else then. You saved the girl in the Schnee warehouse facility, am I right?'

Of all possible questions, that was not the one I expected. Confounded, I nodded.

'If I were to make a guess; is it correct to say that if you did not save her, you would have made a clean getaway?' Judging that the answer wouldn't bite me in the ass later, I nodded again.

'So what made you go out your way to save the life of a stranger?'

'Excuse me?'

'Why would you get yourself captured to save somebody you did not know?'

I felt my temper rise. 'Is it that strange?'

'I'm sorry?' He asked for a clarification.

His befuddlement just got me angrier. 'Is it so strange that I had an option to save a person and I took it?' I slammed down on the table, making the woman bring up her weapon. I did not care. 'There are very few things I won't do for money. As it happens, trading a life happens to be one of them. I don't want to be paid with a cheque written in blood. I don't want to be a filthy scum who finds it acceptable to kill off people just so he can get scot-free. If you are the kind of trash that counts people's lives in terms of numbers, you can take your fucking business proposition and feed it to the Grimms.' Polite was the last thing on my mind at this point. The man had touched upon the one policy I would rather starve than to break.

My two visitors took a moment to digest my words then exchanged a glance. The woman still seemed to disapprove of me. The man seemed to be satisfied for some reason though. Disapproval, I understood; I did just insult their offer, after all. However, satisfaction left me confused.

I sensed I was being baited but could not resist. I bit. 'Who are you people? I know you are not the police.'

His raised his eyebrow. 'Oh? You seemed so sure of who we were just now, stating we had business for you and all.'

'Yeah, well, my conviction got shot to pieces. Something tells me you are not here to hire my…' I glanced around again, mindful of the recording devices.

'If you are worried about our conversation being taped, I assure you, we are off tape.' I didn't know whether to take his word for it. It was still possible this was all just an elaborate set up to get my confession. On the other hand, I was sick of beating around the bush.

Ah, what the hell. I was planning to break out of prison anyway. A couple more of years in my sentence were not going to impede my escape attempt. 'Something tells me you are not here to hire me for anything illegal.'

A small smile appeared at my integrity. 'No, we are not.'

'So if that is the case, why are you talking to me? You are obviously an important person somewhere. Why are you spending your time here?'

'Tell me, have you heard of the Beacon Academy?' I blinked at the question, not seeing its relevance.

'Course I have. Who haven't? I met a few from the academy during my career. Troublesome bastards.' I was not fond of huntsmen and huntresses, since they would totally pulverize me in a fight. Standard protocol for meeting them was to run like hell and hope I lost them.

'Have you ever wanted to be a huntsman?'

'I…' I wanted to deny it; to claim I never thought about being a huntsman. To dream of such a thing was foolish, a fantasy. But I was seventeen after all, the age potential huntsmen enrolled into Beacon. 'That's not of your business,' was all I managed to utter.

'I disagree. You see, I am Professor Ozpin; Headmaster of Beacon Academy. That makes it my business whether you want to be huntsman or not because I have interest inviting you as a student.'

It took me a second to process what he said. It took considerably longer to comprehend it.

There have been many points in my life when I was left speechless. It's not too rare an occurrence; Harmony managed to do that in a regular basis. But what Ozpin said took the icing off the cake. In fact, it took the whole cake by itself. This wasn't possible. It was absurd!

I laughed out loud. It seemed they did not expect that at all, by the look of surprise on their faces. The lady did not seem amused at my outburst.

It took me a moment to compose myself. 'That was a good one.' I managed between my gasps for air. 'Alright. You have a sense of humor. Now tell me what you really want.' There was no way he was from Beacon.

He did not say anything. If anything, he seemed more serious now than he had ever been this whole evening. His severe expression challenged me to find a reason to doubt his words. I searched. I really did. I tried to find any hints of deceit; any traces of bluff. I could not.

'You serious?' I asked.

He gave a single nod.

-x-x-x-x-

I'll say one thing about Ozpin. He had some serious strings.

Once I agreed to what was probably the greatest offer ever, of all times, he had me out of my silver bracelets within thirty minutes. There were no charges, no additional conditions for freedom. Just by being freed, I was already on the better side of the deal.

After receiving the instructions from Glynda and making appropriate display of farewell, I made a random stroll through the City of Vale. I took my lunch, bought some stuff I would need at Beacon and spent the free time doing completely pointless things. Once I was sure there was no tail from the police – another startling display of Ozpin's strings – I made my way to our hideout.

There was nothing like home sweet home. Just looking at the shabby door of this worn down apartment block made me feel welcomed. Tired to the bone and aching with various injuries, I simply could not wait to lie down and sleep. I punched my passcode into the door lock and flung it open.

One thing I learned while being a thief was to trust my intuition. There are times when cold, rational calculations were not fast enough and one had to go with the gut feelings. It wasn't right all the time, of course. Still, it had proved itself useful often in the past that when it nagged at me, I would follow it without question.

When I flung the door open, my instincts screamed danger. I managed to jump out of the way in time to avoid a crossbow bolt. Holy shit. Harmony was shooting at me!

'Harmony! It's me!' I yelled.

'Breaker?' She looked out from the doorway with a shocked expression. I smiled weakly at her and gave a little wave.

She came over and pulled me up. 'You are free! You have to tell how you did that.' A frown appeared on her forehead. 'Did you sell me out?'

I smiled at the all too familiar paranoia. I ushered her into the house, to escape from any eavesdroppers. 'No, Harmony. I did not sell us out.'

At my assurance, she relaxed. We may be capable of betraying one another but we did not lie to each other. Among thieves, that was as solid as friendship could get. 'Tell me how you got free!'

'First though, I want my share.'

A flash of sadness crossed her face. She took her phone, typed for awhile. 'There. Transferred. Go check.'

I didn't bother. 'You really did get my share.' I beamed at her.

'Took awhile to convince them. They were insisting that you were more trouble that you are worth.' I chuckled at that. Clients were just like thieves. They tried to avoid parting with their money at any opportunity. 'Anyway, it's your turn. Tell me how you got free.'

I took a cup of water. 'You are not going to believe this.'

-x-x-x-x-

'I don't believe you.'

'Oh, come on. When did I ever lie to you?'

'Should I recount chronologically or alphabetically?'

'Stop quoting movies. It's an intellectual property.'

'And I am a thief. What's your point?'

I laughed. It felt good to be bantering with her again. Knowing she would not be convinced with words, I produced the enrollment document Glynda gave me. She snatched it from my hand, looked it over, and then perused it in detail. Eventually satisfied, she gave it back. 'Looks genuine.'

'I'm going next week.' I grinned widely, only to realise that she did not look as pleased as I thought she might be. 'Hey, something wrong?'

My words jolted her out of her reverie. 'No. It's just that you get to go to Beacon Academy while I'm stuck here, just being a petty thief.'

'Hey, don't say that.'

An annoyed look came over her. 'Why not? It's true.'

'Why are you so mad? It's not like I can keep working as a thief for awhile.' That was the truth. With my body this busted up, there was no way I was going to be able pull off stunts like the one yesterday for awhile.

Her voice rose; she was genuinely angry. 'The thing is; it's not going to be awhile, is it? You are not going to come back! Why would you? Once you finish your training, you will be a fucking huntsman! Why would anyone give that up to become a petty thief again?'

I wanted to argue but could not think of what to say. The truth was that I have not even thought that far ahead yet. But now that I thought about it, I was unable to dispute her words.

She did not miss my silence. 'Ha! I knew it. You really aren't coming back. You know, it's a good thing you got cut from the team. Frees you from obliga…' She stopped, realizing what she was saying.

It was too late. 'What do you mean I'm cut from the team?' It wasn't really a question. I could piece what happened easily enough. Anger sparked.

If I really was cut, there was only one reason for it. It meant my client did not want anyone catching wind that I have been working for them. I have been seen by Schnee Company and now they were not going to be caught being seen with me. It made sense from management point of view. Schnee Company's retaliations were legendary. Rather than to risk suffering those losses, it was a lot cheaper to hire someone new.

Something else clicked. Rage coursed through me.

'They didn't pay me for the work, did they? They were buying my silence.' Her silence gave me the answer. 'You lied to me.' I snarled.

The fact that she lied to me angered me more than anything. I could accept her decision to leave me behind in an exploding warehouse. It had been my decision and I knew what I was getting into. A lie was something else.

If she was forced to sell me out but had told me about it, I would not have been as cross. In the world of thieves, such things were common. Sometimes, circumstances forced you to give up on your friends. However, you warned them either beforehand or afterwards what was coming their way so they could make their own preparations. That was how friendship worked among thieves.

She did one thing, perhaps the only thing, unforgivable in our relationship.

Wordlessly, I began to pack my belongings. I ignored her attempts at apologies. I did not speak a word to her. Within minutes, I was out on the streets again.

For the first time in awhile, I was without a home again.


	3. Chapter 3: Distractions

**DISCLAIMER: Those that ought to belong to others shall belong to their respective owners. Those that ought to belong to me, if any, shall belong to me.**

-x-x-x-x-

Distractions

As I rode in the airship, appreciating the fine scenery out the windows and walking among those who were going to be my schoolmates for the next four years, there was only one thought on my mind.

Distractions, I needed distractions.

The reason for this was simple; there were too many people whose pockets I could easily pick.

These students were terrible at taking care of their possessions; one of them kept his money in a pouch on his back! If I were to succumb to the temptation, I'm sure I could have quadrupled the lien in my wallet. Considering that most of these people were Signal trained, it was shocking to see how vulnerable they were. Well, they were trained to fight monsters, not pickpockets. Fending off thieves was probably not in their training curriculum.

Despite the temptation, I kept my fingers to myself. There were many reasons stealing was a bad idea. One, if I did get caught – improbable but possible – there was going to be a rather angry potential huntsman/huntress to deal with. There was no way I could to win against a Signal trained person, which most of these people happened to be. Two, I was stuck on an airship. Even if I made a clean getaway, they might find later on that their lien was stolen. If a ship wide search was conducted, I wouldn't be able to keep the money anyway. Three, I was trying to quit. This was a chance to turn a new leaf. I did not want to blow that chance away stealing lien I did not even need.

I was learning that trying to quit stealing was like quitting smoking, however. It had withdrawal symptom. Without even realizing, my eyes wondered to various wallets and valuable possessions each people had and my brain kept assessing my chance of success for each item.

Bad Balthazar. No stealing.

I needed a distraction.

Looking at the scenery was fruitless. My various assignments using airships had left me dull to the beauty of the overhead view of landscapes. Checking out the girls was not as successful as I thought it would be. I mean, it works the first few seconds I laid my eyes on them but then I will notice what sort of style they dressed, whether they had anything on them that looked expensive, whether it was something portable and easily removed…

I needed something else to distract me.

'Oh, I can't believe my baby sister is going to Beacon with me. This is the best day ever!' came from the blond girl to my left.

'Please, stop,' murmured the short girl dressed in black and red, currently squeezed by blond girl's hug.

'But I'm so proud of you!' Before I knew, I was eavesdropping. Well, if I had to choose between eavesdropping and stealing, eavesdropping was the lesser evil.

The conversation was fairly interesting, telling me a little bit about the smaller girl. I was wondering what she could have done to move up two years into Beacon when ship's broadcast system came online.

'The robbery was led by the nefarious criminal, Roman Torchwick…' A familiar face came on the ship's holographic screen, capturing my attention.

I knew of Roman Torchwick; almost every thief did. This wasn't necessarily a good thing when one was a thief. According to Harmony – who had worked with the man on occasions – the man was loud, infuriating and foolish but also determined. He also had a knack of recognizing situations he should retreat from. That made him the sort of thief one hired if they wanted a long-term work done secretively. He was unlikely to cut himself halfway through the project or get himself captured by mistake.

I wondered what he was involved in now as the news anchor continued to babble on. Then all of a sudden, Glynda came on the screen and my interests dropped. Deciding I could probably do without whatever she was selling, I went for another stroll. I aimlessly wondered for a good five minutes before finding myself in front of the washroom.

May as well wash my face; I was sleepy.

Even the toilet was posh on this airship, equipped with an automatic door. How much dough did this school have, if they can afford several of these airships just to fetch students?

As I stepped out after my wash, my attention was elsewhere and I did not notice a guy entering. He shoved me out of the way easily, being much bigger and fitter than me, knocking me to the ground. 'Watch where you are going, retard.' He sneered at me as he walked past.

That flipped my switch. I wasn't going to take shit like that lying down. He might be stronger than me but I had other cards I could play. Without hesitation, I laid my hands on the washroom door and focused. I was going to lock him in. It took me just a few seconds, just in time before he reached it. There was a sound of him clicking on the door switch. Nothing happened.

'Hey, what the hell?' The clicking got more frantic, with no effect. 'What's wrong with this stupid thing?' Soon, sounds of banging on the door accompanied his shouting. Feeling immensely smug, I turned my back to the door, not really caring how he was going to get out.

When I turned, there was a girl in front of me. She was of slightly shorter than average height with shoulder length green hair. She had an awed look in her face. 'Wow, how did you do that?'

Aw, crap. I had a witness.

'Tell me how you did it!' Her voice was too loud for my taste. Before she could draw more attention, I clamped a hand over her mouth. However, the girl had surprising amount of strength, easily prying my hand away.

'Tell me how you did that!' She chirped excitedly. I felt my panic rise.

'Would you stop that? People are looking!' I hissed.

'Tell me, tell me, tell me!' She was relentless.

'Alright, alright! But keep quiet!'

At my words, she held out her forefinger and stuck it on her lips. She bobbed excitedly, a happy grin plastered over her face. I took a look at that jovial expression and groaned.

It looked like I landed myself an oddball.

-x-x-x-x-

I led her around the ship until I came across somewhere less occupied. It wasn't empty but it would have to do. I turned my attention to the girl.

'Are you going to tell me now?' she enquired.

'Yes. I guess.' I thought about how to best explain this. A demonstration was probably the best option. I took out one of my High Explosive grenades, focused on it and pulled the pin. Her eyes went wide.

'What the hell are you doing?' She pulled out her weapon case which quickly morphed into a halberd. The happy-go-lucky expression was gone, replaced by something much more feral. Shit. Perhaps this demonstration was not the best idea. Seized with terror, I backed away as far as possible and held up my hands.

'Wait! It's safe!' I screamed at top of my lungs, turning the heads of others in the room. Feeling embarrassed, I hid the grenade from their view. This definitely was not the best idea.

Seeing that the grenade did not explode, the girl sheathed her weapon and approached me warily. 'Is that a dud?'

Glad that she was catching on, I answered enthusiastically, 'yes! Well, no. I mean, it was real but it's not going to work anymore.' My babbling piqued her curiosity.

'What do you mean?' She was back to the perky state.

Sensing the danger had passed, I showed her the grenade. She took it from my hand, shook it close by her ear and listened. I wasn't worried about it exploding; it was now completely inert. Once done with her examination, she returned it to me.

'How did you do that?' she asked.

'It's my semblance.'

'Your semblance?' She parroted.

'Yeah.' I ran a hand through my hair, trying to recall how I explained my semblance to Harmony in the past. 'My semblance causes things to malfunction.'

'Ooh.' Her eyes told me to continue.

'To put things simply; I break things, very easily. This grenade is never going to explode unless somebody fixes it.' To emphasize my point, I tossed it into the air.

'So you broke the door just now.' She muttered.

'Yup. I screwed up the door's opening mechanism. He'll have to smash it open if he wants to come out.' I grinned at the thought of him trapped. He could wait until somebody got him out but I hoped he forced his way. That way, the vandalism would be his fault.

The girl thought for a moment, then brought out her weapon. Although she kept it in its storage form, I flinched a little, unsure why she wanted it out. 'Can you break this too?'

I nodded. A collapsible weapon was a piece of cake for my semblance. They had so many interlocking parts that could easily be made to malfunction.

She grinned excitedly at my answer and put her weapon away. 'Can you break this airship?'

'Yes, but it's not easy. Although I won't ever do that when I am riding one. My semblance can't fix things. If I mess something up, I will have to fix it manually if I ever want to use it again.'

She looked really impressed. 'Your semblance is so strong.' Privately, I disagreed. My semblance wouldn't save me if somebody came at me with something simple like a dagger or a sword. It also wouldn't be of any use if the guns shooting at me were out of my reach. It did nothing against dust either.

It was useful at getting rid of security systems in place though, which was why I excelled at breaking and entering.

'So are you satisfied now?' Now that she knew what happened, maybe she would leave me alone.

She vigorously nodded. 'Hey, what's your name?'

'Why?' My paranoia flared, as it always did when someone asked for my name.

'Because we are friends, silly! How else am I going to call you if I need somebody locked behind a door?'

Her answer was so ridiculous, so absurd and so different from what I was used to getting from people that it caught me off guard. For the first time since I parted ways with Harmony, I laughed wholeheartedly.

'It's…' I almost said Breaker, the name I have been known as for the last five years. Realizing that I probably will never be called that again really put my situation into perspective. I didn't know how I felt about it. 'Balthazar Venarius, at your service.' My real name felt rusty on my tongue, after so many years of disuse.

'Lestia Glass. We are gonna be the best friends ever, of all times,' said Lestia, her face full of conviction.

We chatted throughout the rest of the airship ride. Not once did I need a distraction.

-x-x-x-x-

I'll say one thing about Beacon. It was really freaking big. Huge. Enormous. After fifteen minutes of dead ends and walking in circles, Lestia and I finally found the blasted assembly area.

The place was quite packed, most of the students having arrived already. We were quite literally the last students to reach here. While I preferred being at the back of the crowd, Lestia preferred being at the front. Therefore, we compromised and started making our way to the front.

Halfway through the journey, I heard a girl yelling and turned that way. What I saw gave me enough shock for a minor heart attack. Before my eyes was the girl that caught me in the Schnee Dust Company warehouse. She was yelling at the smaller girl I eavesdropped on earlier in the airship.

It was unmistakably her. She was kind of hard to forget, with her white long hair and attire.

Lestia sensed me freeze. 'What's wrong?'

I struggled to calm my hammering heart. Relax, Balthazar. There is no way she knows who you are. You had your visor on the whole time and she was blind and deaf for the most of that duration. Still, I did not want to push my luck. She did hear me talk; it might be possible for her to recognize me by that. I had to get away from her.

'Let's go that way.' I pointed the opposite direction. Not suspecting a thing, Lestia agreed swiftly. As long as it was to the front, it did not matter much to her.

As I made my escape through the tide of students, my mind processed the situation. There wasn't much to process though. It was highly unlikely she would recognize me. Still, it was going to be a real trouble if she did. I would have to store away my flashbang grenades and do without my visor as well. I would also need to keep my eyes open, avoiding her as much as possible. Other than those, there was nothing much I could do, short of quitting the school. I found that I did not want to do that.

Lestia nudged me, directing my attention to the front. Professor Ozpin was about to start his speech.

Pushing the thought of the girl in white out of my mind, I paid attention to my headmaster.

-x-x-x-x-

The temptation was back, stronger than before.

These students were absolute shit at keeping their possessions. Why would you not keep your things in the lockers provided if you are just going to leave them abandoned nearby? The various items of respectable value kept beckoning me, trying to break my will as they remained seductively unattended.

I needed a distraction.

Sleep would have been ideal since there was to be an initiation tomorrow. However, just like many other ideal things, it was also unattainable. There were noises everywhere. You can't stuff hundreds of seventeen years old into a single room – no matter how big – and expect lights out by ten. It just did not happen.

If I really wanted, I could have put my visor on, shut off the sensors and have gone to sleep. However, that was out of question. Not only would I look like a complete retard, sleeping with a visor on, but that girl in white was around somewhere. Visor was pretty much dead to me from this point on, as were the flashbang grenades.

I wished Lestia was here. She was something akin to a miniature force of nature, equivalent to stuffs like hailstones and forest fire, and forces of nature were quite distracting. If she was here, I had no doubt that my mind would be completely free of the temptation. Oh well, can't keep dwelling on what I did not have. Another thing forces of nature were was unpredictable, after all. I had no idea what she might be doing, where she might be. She was probably making new friends somewhere.

I was on my own.

I got up from my spot, opting to remove myself from the temptation rather than to resist it. I made my way to the locker room; the only other place I knew of in this school other than the washroom and cafeteria. It was empty, as I hoped it would be.

I did not bother with the lights. What kind of a thief would I be, if I was not comfortable in the dark? Without a single collision, I arrived at my locker. I punched in the code and opened it. After rummaging through my possessions, I found what I was looking for. Deftly, I pulled it out.

It was a little twisted ring made of metal wire, barely half the size of my thumb. It was one of the first items I had ever stolen and the only one I was unable to sell or trade for food because it lacked monetary value. Over the years, it became something of a lucky charm. It felt somehow fitting for me to look at it again, since I was about to start a new chapter in my life.

Oh, how Harmony would have laughed at my sentimentality.

As I laid on one of the benches, tinkering with my lucky charm, I heard footsteps. There was more than one and they were approaching the locker room. Aw, crap. I tossed the ring back into the locker and shut it with least noise as possible.

I prayed that these people were just walking past. If they entered the locker room and found me, it was going to look fairly suspicious. I was in a room full of lockers containing students' possessions, skulking in the dark. If I walked in on someone like that, I knew what I was going to think of him.

To my dismay, the footsteps entered the room. I crouched in the corner of the room, all the while waiting for the light to go on and startled yelps to be shouted as they found me. My hand tightened around the emergency smoke grenade I kept at all times, as I contemplated whether it was worth using upon my eventual discovery.

It never happened.

Two newcomers walked into the room without lights, bumping into various benches as they went to another corner of the room. Once out of the view of the corridor, they attached themselves to each other. Kissing noises appeared.

Oh my god. They were making out.

That was both an opportunity and a reason for me to get the hell out. I made my exit as silently as a ghost. I did not pause once out of the room, distancing myself from the couple as much as possible as soon as I can.

Once I was far away enough, I broke into laughter. Well, that was interesting. Not surprising though, considering our age and current situation. It certainly got my adrenaline pumping.

That was enough adventure for one night.

I made my way back to the ballroom. Things have settled down by this point, most of the people sleeping and most of the lights dark. I made my way to my spot and made myself comfortable. I briefly wondered which two of the unoccupied sleeping bags belonged to the passionate duo.

It had been an interesting day.


	4. Chapter 4: Introductions

**DISCLAIMER: Those that ought to belong to others shall belong to their respective owners. Those that ought to belong to me, if any, shall belong to me.**

-x-x-x-x-

Introductions

Ugh. I felt like crap.

Do you know how well a thief can sleep in an enclosed area full of huntsman and huntress cadets? Not very well, as it turned out. Throughout the night, people kept moving about for reasons I could not fathom. Thanks to them, there had been an uninterrupted flow of noise over the whole night that proved detrimental to a certain ex-thief's comfortable sleep.

Combine my lack of sleep with the injuries I got as souvenir from the Schnee warehouse and I was in a state far from peachy. This was rather unfortunate, since today was initiation.

Well, at least I didn't feel like stealing anymore; I was too tired.

Currently, I was nodding off in front of my plate of pancakes, trying to sneak in a couple minutes of sleep.

'Morning, sunshine!' Lestia's voice greeted me and my head got smacked into the pancakes. Lestia sat on the opposite side of the table as I detached myself from my breakfast. Thank goodness I'm the type that does not pour the syrup over.

'Lestia, what the hell.' It was supposed to be fierce but all I managed was meekly instead.

'Nothing like digging in head first into breakfast, right? Just like a fight.' She showed no trace of apology as she cheerfully and mercilessly devoured her pancakes. Her mood was infectious and soon I was munching on mine.

'So what happens in an initiation?' I asked, hoping to prepare myself.

'The students enter one versus one single combat: fight to the death.' She replied insouciantly.

It took me awhile to realizing she was bullshitting; I was really off-form today. 'Lestia, that will reduce our year's size to half.'

'Which will double our portions of pancakes!'

I chuckled at her reply. 'Seriously, what's going to happen today?'

'Oh, who knows. Everyone is all guess and no fact.' She had finished her pancakes and was eyeing mine hungrily. I ignored her stare.

'So you have no clue at all?' I took a small bite.

'I wouldn't say that.' She gulped. 'Are you going to finish that?'

'Lestia.'

'Look, everyone is saying all kinds of things about the initiation test; monsters, assassination, obstacle course and dragons. I don't know what to believe. But most of them seemed sure that it will settle the teammate issue somehow. Now, please let me eat the pancakes; I'm really hungry.' She had this pout on. I handed her my plate and soon the pancakes met their end.

'Oh. So no clue how teams are made?'

'Nope.' That was a disappointment. I was hoping for a bit of info so I could prepare myself. Oh well, it looked like a day of improvisation awaited me. A question formed in my mind. 'So who are you going to partner?' I asked as indifferently as I could manage.

Lestia laughed at the question. 'Of course you, silly. Who else would I partner?'

I was at loss of words at her prompt response. It was the answer I wanted, of course, but I had hardly hoped. I wanted to express my immense gratitude but did not know how.

Then the moment passed. With a clatter, Lestia dropped the now empty plate onto the table.

'How come your pancakes taste better than mine?'

'That's because you shoved my face in there just now.' I smirked.

She frowned. 'Eww, gross.'

'Serves you right'

-x-x-x-x-

Damn, Emerald Forest was vast. We were on top of the cliff overlooking the forest. Each of us was standing on one of the platforms placed in a row that paralleled the edge of the cliff. I was on the third platform from my end.

'For years, you have trained to become warriors.' Not really. I don't think thieves were considered warriors. 'And today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest,' said Professor Ozpin. My eyes lingered on the mug of coffee in his hand.

Glynda Goodwitch continued, 'now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams. Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates, today.'

Professor Ozpin spoke again. 'These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well.' I nodded at his words; I knew importance of having a compatible partner. 'That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years.'

A startled shout of 'what!?' came from the other end of the platforms, echoing my sentiment.

This was the stupidest method ever, of all times.

As the rest of the instructions were given, my mind blazed. With such a system of partner selection, it was a distinct possibility to be not paired with Lestia. I began to worry. I stole a glance to my right to find Lestia looking unperturbed at all.

'Are there any questions?' Ozpin ended his instructions with this question. 'Good. Now, take your positions.'

'Psst, Circe. Shoot me a link,' whispered the guy on the first platform to the girl beside him. Immediately afterwards, his platform launched him into the air, towards the forest down below.

What the fuck.

The girl second in line watched as the first guy soared through the air. 'Fascinating,' she muttered calmly. Her platform launched her an instant later.

Next was me.

'Lestia, look for a green… Uwah!' was all I managed as I flew into the air.

-x-x-x-x-

The flight was longer than I thought it would be.

It was an excellent time for introspection, really. It gave me ample time to think about a few things like: how I regretted coming to Beacon to only be killed by a launching platform; how mad Professor Ozpin was, if he thought this was an acceptable method of conducting an initiation; and whether Lestia heard the few words I said before I got launched.

Behind me, I could see airborne silhouettes as the rest of the first years got their turns. It seemed that not everyone considered the situation terrifying; I swore I heard whoops of delight from a few of them. I wondered how many in this Academy were mad.

As the ground approached, all non-essential lines of thought were shut down and diverted towards priority number one: how to land without dying.

For once though, Fortune was showing me favor; I did have something I could try. I did not know whether it would work, of course. Still, it was better than hoping I landed on a soft part of the forest.

After the incident in the Schnee facility, I had developed a sudden interest in finding ways to land from outrageous heights without injuring myself. The solution I found was called a foam grenade. Once it exploded, it would rapidly produce large quantity of foams that quickly semi-solidified into a cushiony sort of state. It was useful in mines in cases of cave-ins, shielding the people from rocks above. It was immune to fire, porous and, if one had enough time and patience, could be traversed through from one end to another.

I wondered if it was enough to save me; it was highly doubtful that the manufacturers had my current situation in mind when they designed this thing. Oh well. I didn't have a choice.

I brought out my revolver and loaded all its eight chambers with the foam bomb pellets. In my other hand, I brought out two foam grenades and pulled the safety pins. I waited for as much as possible, to be sure of my landing spot, before shooting all the pellets and then tossing the two grenades. Foams rose rapidly and swallowed me up. I shut my eyes and prayed with all my heart, all the while expecting the bone-crushing pain.

It never came.

Holy crap. I was alive.

When I opened my eyes, my world was white and bubbly. I was completely surrounded by the foams. Unable to see the rest of my body, I substituted by wiggling all the body parts. It felt that everything was in working order. Foam grenade had done its job splendidly.

Now, I just needed to get out of this marvelous piece of technological ingenuity. Eight bomb pellets and two grenades of foam meant a lot of that stuff. A lot. Luckily, there was an easy way to get rid of it. After some struggle, I managed to reach a specific button on my vambrace. I pressed it.

Immediately, the foams began to break down. They had a specific disintegration frequency; otherwise, they would be awfully hard to get rid of. Once the last of the foams disappeared, I laid on the ground, my legs weak with relief.

Beacon Academy was not good for my heart.

Remembering that I needed to find Lestia, I took out my green smoke grenade and tossed it to the side. Hopefully, Lestia saw the smoke signal and sought me out.

Now, all I had to do was to wait.

-x-x-x-x-

I was bored.

I did not want to admit it but it was true. There was this desire, this need to be doing…something, anything but inaction. I paced in circles. I had already scouted the perimeter, making sure there weren't any monsters nearby. I could try climbing to the top of the tree again; see if I can find Lestia. I shook my head and pushed the thought away. It was just a waste of time.

How was it possible that after mere five minutes from escaping a gruesome death, I could already be restless with boredom? It did not make sense. For a brief moment, I seriously pondered whether Beacon's madness was contagious.

Deciding to be productive, I laid down my inventory on the ground. I may as well make sure all my gears were still in working order. The fact that my semblance can easily screw up other people's equipments made me always paranoid about my own gears' functionality.

First for checking was my revolver – which I affectionately called Fiasco; it was a little joke, since the gun was only used in heists when things were going wrong. In general, I mistrusted guns. My semblance, malfunction, was effective against all guns – especially the collapsible sort – and I did not have absolute mastery over it. There were times in the past when the guns I was shooting with just went dead in my hands because of my semblance. Malfunction had a general rule: simpler the device, harder it is to be broken. This meant a revolver was most resistant among all the guns.

Next for checking were my grenades and bullets. Explosives were my weapons of choice, mainly because I had more control over them than most people; malfunction allowed me to nullify them at any point I wanted, as long as it was before the actual explosion. My grenades came in all types: high explosive, smoke, EMP, fire, sleeping gas, etc. For bullets, I had the standard sort for revolvers and the custom-made bomb pellets. Bomb pellets were basically bullet form of my grenades that detonated upon impact. They were weaker than the actual grenades but much more versatile.

My throwing knives were next. They all had a slot in the centre for a bomb pellet to be placed. They were my silent projectiles, in moments when gunshots were not an option. Their edges were nothing to laugh at either.

Last set of equipment was the vambraces on my arms. I had invested quite a bit of lien on these, for these were the things that kept me alive. They were strong enough to resist most weapon blows and also served as controllers for my miscellaneous devices like the visor or foam disintegrator. I kept my throwing knives there as well.

Once satisfied that my stuffs were in working order, I packed them up with the efficiency that came with years of practice.

'Hey, I think we finally found the place!' came a cry from behind. From the ground vegetation emerged the guy who had been the first student to be launched. Our eyes met. Aw, crap. My spirit dampened. It looked like I won't be partnering with Lestia after all.

'Alex, be quiet. You will invite every monster within half a mile.' The girl that had been the second to be launched emerged from behind the guy.

Wait a minute. If these two were together, that meant they were partners! My partner spot was still vacant. Feeling considerably better, I observed the pair.

The guy, Alex, was tall, well-built and dressed in armor. He had a teardrop shaped shield on his left and a mace in his right. His hair was like a crown of flames and a confident grin lit his face.

The girl was slender and of medium height. She had a glove/gauntlet on each hand, something I recognized as Casting Purpose Dust Gauntlets. Her hair was a wave of purple that reached to her waist. Her face displayed tranquility.

Alex gave me a wave, 'hey ya, there. You lit the distress signal?' He thumbed towards my green smoke.

Oh, they must have mistaken the smoke trail as a distress signal. 'It's not a distress signal. It's for my friend to find me.'

At my answer, Alex's face fell and the girl crossed her arms. 'See, Alex. I told you it was a beacon.' A small smile flickered on her face.

Alex rubbed his forehead. 'Yeah, yeah. You win as usual.' Without another word, he took some lien and handed it to his partner.

He took another glance at my smoke. 'I must say, that's a wicked smart way to get your friends become your teammates.' The girl nodded her assent and looked at me. I had a distinct feeling of being studied.

Hoping to be free from her silent staring, I introduced myself, 'Balthazar Venarius, by the way. Nice to meet you.'

'Alex Marsdonia, likewise. And this here is…'

She cut in. 'I can introduce myself, Alex.' She turned to me, 'Circe Arganets.' I recognized the last name.

'When you say Arganets, you don't mean…'

'Yes, you are speaking to the second child of the family that runs the illustrious Arganets Dust Manufacturing.' At Alex's introduction, Circe shot him a frosty glare. Alex grinned back, which impressed the hell out of me because I would have trembled under such a glare.

If Schnee Dust Company was an empire, Arganets Dust Manufacturing was like a kingdom. While vastly smaller in size, it was still nothing to sneeze at. There were pockets in Remnants where Schnee was too far to matter and Arganets reigned supreme.

'That explains the CPDG, I guess.' I muttered without thinking.

'You know about Casting Purpose Dust Gauntlets?' Alex said in surprise. Oops.

Casting Purpose Dust Gauntlets were not really a public knowledge; they were barely available to the military. They amplified the effects of dust to powerful levels but were notoriously difficult to use. If the wielder's concentration wavered, it caused messy explosions. The dust companies controlled manufacture of them with grips of iron. The only reason I knew about them was because I had robbed dust companies so much. I couldn't tell them that.

'I am a weapon mania?' I offered weakly. Alex eyed me with suspicion.

On the other hand, Circe seemed untroubled by my knowledgeability. 'It's named CouP De Grace.' Alex, seeing that his friend was letting the matter drop, followed suit.

I inwardly sighed with relief. Crisis averted for now. 'CouP De Grace. CPDG. Nice name, very smart.'

'Thank you.'

I tried to change the subject. 'You guys didn't happen to see a girl with green hair on your way here, did you? About this short, has a two-headed halberd?' I raised my hand to Lestia's approximate height.

At my description, the two exchanged a look of recognition.

'Wait. You did?'

They nodded as one.

-x-x-x-x-

Lestia was literally the weirdest girl I've met in my life.

I could see her now, sitting under a tree with her fearsome weapon tightly held in her hands.

'So you are telling me that she's been like this the whole time?' I asked.

Alex nodded. 'Yup, nearly shot my head off when I called her out.'

I facepalmed, 'I can't believe this.'

'Go get her, stop making her wait.' Circe's tone contained a trace of disapproval.

I nodded in agreement. 'I think you guys should wait here.'

Alex chuckled, 'Trust me. Even if you invited, I wasn't going to accept.'

Leaving them behind, I approached Lestia on my own. As my footsteps reached her, she got up, brandishing her weapon. 'I don't know who you are but I'm warning you; get away from me.' I could see the barrel of her weapon aimed at my general direction.

Not wanting to be shot, I called out to her. 'Lestia, it's me. You can open your eyes now.'

Recognizing my voice, she opened her eyes. 'Balthazar!' She beamed happily.

She rushed to me, jumped the last metre and punched me squarely in the stomach. Not the greeting I was expecting. Sprawling on the ground, I looked up to her. 'Ouch. What was that for?'

'What took you so long?' She shouted back as she offered her hand.

'What took me so long? I was waiting for you!' Accepting her hand, I pulled myself off the ground.

She rolled her eyes. 'Waiting for me? How was I supposed to find you? All you told me was to look for a green something! What the hell! Everything is a green something here! This is the freaking EMERALD Forest!'

I didn't know how to argue with that.

Our bickering went for awhile more. I was so caught up in the reunion that I did not even notice Alex and Circe joining us. Alex's laughter interrupted our exchange. 'You guys are the cutest couple I've ever seen.'

Lestia's attention shifted towards Alex and Circe. 'Oh, hi! Name's Lestia Glass. Who are you?' She offered hand.

Circe took it. 'Circe Arganets. Pleasure to meet you.'

Alex shook the hand next. 'Alex Marsdonia. I'm the guy you shot at just now, by the way.'

Lestia laughed at the memory. 'Sorry. I had to make sure I didn't make eye contact with anybody until Balthazar arrived.' As a thought occurred to her, worry settled on her face. 'Wait, you came with him, right? Does that mean you made eye contact with him already?'

I clarified. 'They are partners with each other already. You are the first person I made eye contact with that's without a partner.'

She sighed with relief. 'Thank goodness. I would have beaten the shit out of you if you ditched me when I waited so much for you.' Upon her words, I sighed with relief as well. At my reaction, Alex laughed again.

Circe's clicked her finger and grabbed our attention. 'Well, while all this was entertaining, it is time we got on with our initiation.' She said placidly.

That brought my mind back to the current situation. 'Yeah. The longer we spend in this forest, more likely we will meet some monsters. We should get a move on.'

'You don't have to be scared of monsters. We can kill anything that comes our way.' Lestia declared with gusto.

Alex disagreed. 'I wouldn't be so certain. Some monsters are tricky to handle. Killing them without injuries might be difficult.' He swung his mace once. 'That said, if a pack of beowolves comes over, I'm game.' A menacing grin crept onto his face.

'We'll pick our fight. Our problem now is finding where the abandoned temple is.' I commented.

Alex shook his head. 'That's not a problem at all.'

'Why is that?'

Alex grinned widely. 'Because I kind of memorized the landscape of the Emerald Forest when I was flying. I saw where the temple is. I know how to get there.'

I was dumbstruck. All I did while flying was panicking and trying to not die.

'Oh, that's just so cool!' Lestia's eyes shone excitedly.

'You are telling me that just by looking at the overhead view, you were able to map the whole forest in your head?' I asked, incredulous.

'Not the whole forest; just what I was able to see. Luckily, I flew quite high and saw a lot of it.' Alex answered matter-of-factly.

If he was telling the truth, this was incredible. 'That's very impressive.'

Alex nodded, 'I am an impressive man.' Circe whacked the back of his head, causing him to grunt. 'Ow.' He rubbed the spot. 'Circe, let me have my moment of being worshipped in peace.'

She commanded disapprovingly, 'stop showing off. Come on; time's a wasting.'

He grumbled, 'You are just jealous because you can't do it.' Circe shrugged in response.

With Alex at the lead, we made our way to the abandoned temple.

-x-x-x-x-

The journey to the temple proved to be uneventful.

I wouldn't say it was dull, although Lestia would have disagreed. We filled the void left by absence of action with conversations.

Alex told us how Circe and he had been childhood friends ever since he could remember. He recounted several interesting episodes the two of them had together and Circe often interjected concisely to correct the exaggerations he sprouted. Lestia introduced her Bladed Leaf, her dual headed halberd, and demonstrated its various functions. I showed them my grenades and explained their functions, opting to talk about my weapons instead of my dubious past.

Before long, we had reached the temple.

It was a circular ruin, crumbling in its dilapidated state. There were twenty pedestals, some of them empty, some of them occupied. 'This must be it.' I muttered.

'It looks more like an auditorium to me,' said Circe.

'School auditorium looks nothing like this,' Lestia commented.

'I meant an ancient auditorium. This looks like an auditorium of the past, rather than a temple,' Circe clarified.

Alex cut in, before a history lesson could commence. 'What it looks like isn't important. We just need to get the relic.'

At a closer distance, I could see that relics were various chess pieces. About a quarter of them were gone already. We entered the temple and looked around. The white rooks, white knights, black bishops and black king pieces were already gone.

'I guess we just take one each?' I considered what piece to take before selecting the white pawn.

Lestia moaned, 'aw… I wanted to take the queen.'

'Oh, I'm sorry,' I apologized, 'I just liked the white pawn because it's the first piece to move in the game. We can change if you want to.'

However, Lestia seemed to have changed her mind. 'Ooh. First piece to move. I like that.' She took the pawn and hugged it tightly.

'As do I.' Circe took the remaining white pawn. She gave a look to Alex to see if he minded; he shrugged indifferently.

With the mission objective fulfilled, I was eager to leave the forest. 'Alex. You know how to get to the cliffs right?'

'Enough to give you a tour on the way.'

'Well then, lead the way. But skip the tour.'

-x-x-x-x-

It just wouldn't have been a proper initiation without monsters, now would it? I had hoped that the journey through the Emerald Forest would be monster free. Much to my chagrin and Lestia's delight, my hope was not to be.

I noticed their presence first, thanks to my sensitive thief ears. There were rustles in the bushes, too soft to be people and too spread out to be by one creature. I placed a hand on Alex's shoulder, bringing him to a stop, while my other hand reached for Fiasco. Alex looked at me with a question in his eyes.

I whispered quietly. 'We are not alone.'

As if on cue, beowolves exploded out of the forest.

A shot from Fiasco and Bladed Leaf brought down two beowolves. A cone of fire from Circe removed two more. However, it was not sufficient to break the initial charge and soon we were in their striking range. Alex and Lestia entered the melee. Circe moved into safety behind Alex, taking potshots wherever she could with controlled blasts of dust. I disengaged myself from the three and majority of the monsters.

I wished I had my flashbang. That was my favorite form of non-lethal crowd control and was just as effective, if not more so, against beowolves as they were to humans. Its downside of stunning my allies would have been mitigated by a beforehand warning to close their eyes and block their ears.

I surveyed the situation, all the while silently eliminating beowolves with my knife throws whenever I could.

There was no need to worry about Alex; he was in his element in a close-combat, smiting down beowolves unlucky enough to be in his mace's range like a god of war. His shield control was incredible and none of the beowolves managed to touch him or Circe.

Lestia was agile and untouchable. Combining her quick dexterity with her weapon's recoil, she leapt in and out of combat, dismembering beowolves without being hit.

Circe, however, was not doing very well. While she sustained no damage because of Alex, she also was not doing much harm to the monsters. With the number of beowolves focusing on Alex increasing, it would not be long before one of them broke through and landed a blow on her.

A noise to my right gave me a split second warning to dodge a swipe. With a howl, the monster charged towards me. I armed a grenade, tossed it into its open jaws then stabbed the mouth shut with a knife. I kicked the beowolf away from me into another one, sealing both their fates in the ensuing explosion.

I repaid my attention to Circe, just in time to see a beowolf getting past Alex and lunging towards her. A shot from Fiasco intercepted it and sent the monster to the ground, injured. As I watched out for her, I noticed something. Circe was eyeing Lestia constantly, who was close by and seemingly having the time of her life.

Pieces clicked.

I yelled, 'Lestia. Come here for a second!'

Lestia turned towards me, savage joy radiant on her face. Many beowolves turned towards me as well, their expressions much more hostile than Lestia's. They all rushed towards me. Breezing through the beowolves, Lestia reached me easily. The beowolves rarely managed to reach me in one piece.

Once Lestia was by my side and far from the other two, I called out again. 'Circe, now!'

A look of surprise flashed on her face, followed by gratitude. Flames blazed from her gauntlet. Alex expanded his shield big enough to cover his whole body, faced Circe, planted his shield to the ground and braced himself. Beowolves leapt at his unguarded back.

Poor bastards.

An orb of blaze bursted forth and enveloped them all. It was bright and scorching, enough to heat up my skin to an uncomfortable degree despite the distance. When it dissipated, the only two left standing were Circe and Alex, surrounded by lumps of ashes and charred flesh. Smoke trailed from the huntsman.

'Oh wow.' Lestia admired.

The remaining beowolves began pulling back, frightened by the fire. Lestia killed as many as she could chase before returning. Alex and Circe came over.

'It's been a while since I did that.' Circe stated placidly.

'I wish you pulled your punches when you do that. I'm not fireproof, you know.' Alex retorted.

Ignoring the jibe, Circe inquired me. 'How did you know?'

'A hunch, I guess.'

Circe gave a little bow. 'You have my thanks.'

I protested. 'No, no. Thanks for holding back for my partner's safety.'

Lestia nodded. 'I don't think I could have withstood something like that. That was brilliant.' She hugged the purple haired girl. Circe gave a small 'eep' at the sudden embrace.

Alex took a whiff at his armor and grimaced. 'Ugh, I smell like a crematory. Could do with a bath.'

'Let's get out of here, I've had enough of this forest,' I said.

-x-x-x-x-

The rest of the journey back to the cliff went without a hitch, unless you counted crossing of the bridge at the bottom of the cliff. For some reason, the bridge/ruin structure had collapsed in multiple places and was useless. We had to improvise.

Currently, we were back in the assembly area, standing on the stage as Professor Ozpin addressed us. 'Circe Arganets, Lestia Glass, Alex Marsdonia, Balthazar Venarius. The four of you retrieved the white pawn pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team BLAC.' I considered our team name. Hmm. Team BLAC. I guess that was not the worst name. It could easily have been Team CALB.

'Led by… Balthazar Venarius.' I looked at my teammates to congratulate the leader then processed what the headmaster has just said. Balthazar Venarius? Wait a minute, something had to be wrong. That was my name! I couldn't have become the leader!

'Yay, Balthazar!' Lestia's exclaimed, slicing right through my denial.

'Nice going,' Alex congratulated me and clapped my back.

Holy shit. It was really happening. Ozpin really did place me as a leader.

As the enthusiastic Lestia half led, half dragged me off the stage, my mind went into a meltdown.

Why did I become the leader? I did not want to be a leader. Why couldn't it have been Circe, who was so calm, collected and charismatic; or Alex, who was powerful and talented; or Lestia, who never hesitated, always full of conviction? I was a thief, not a leader of warriors. What made him think I could do this kind of thing? I will inevitably ruin my team.

'I think the headmaster made a wise choice.' Circe's voice cut through my panic.

'Huh?'

'I think among the four of us, you are the best fit to be a leader.'

I looked at her. Circe did not waver, facing me. I could feel the sincerity from her. Slowly, my turmoil receded. 'Thanks.' I managed.

Wordlessly, she faced the stages again.

Professor Ozpin was announcing the last of the team. 'And finally, Blake Belladonna, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee and Yang Xiao Long…' A name caught my attention. Weiss Schnee? The heiress to the Schnee Dust Company was here? I looked up.

My breath left. Up on the stage, along with her team, was none other than the girl in white. Oh my god. She wasn't some girl whose family had strong ties with Schnee Dust Company; she was the freaking heiress herself.

And I had used a grenade on her.

'Looks like things are shaping up to be an…interesting year.' I heard Professor Ozpin say.

And possibly my last.

-x-x-x-x-

**A/N: Oh, dear, merciful angels. This writing stuff is tough, although enjoyable. Still, I managed to get this chapter out rather fast though. Quite happy**

**From this point on though, the plot will start to deviate and become more original. I feel that up till now, it was quite worth following the plot, but now new events should rise.**

**Welcomes ideas or just simple comments. Or just greetings.**


	5. Chapter 5: A Tie Wrongly Tied

**DISCLAIMER: Those that ought to belong to others shall belong to their respective owners. Those that ought to belong to me, if any, shall belong to me.**

-x-x-x-x-

A Tie Wrongly Tied

Beacon truly was a place of learning, it seemed. It did not take me two days to learn that I hated this uniform.

It consisted of a blue vest, a red tie and a black suit that had the audacity to be lined in gold. I detested all three pieces with equal venom. The blue vest was scratchy and heat-absorbent. The red tie was insufferable, forever refusing to be properly tied and proving exceptional in entrapment of heat. The black suit was… It reminded me of days as a con artist, to say the least, and those were some dark times. However, the worst thing about the uniform, if I were to put my finger on the matter, was the fact that it was absolutely garbage to be wearing in a fight.

This was a real pity because I was in a fight.

The mace swung right in front of my face with an inch to spare. I found that a bit too close for comfort so backpedalled from my assaulter. Unwilling to relinquish the advantage of being the only one armed, Alex gave chase and returned me back into his weapon's range. Damn it, this guy does not go easy against targets at disadvantage.

A flurry of swings and swipes came and I dodged them all, albeit not as easily as I would have wanted. Still, I had been a thief for a good fraction of my life; when it came to evading, I was not going to lose. An overhead blow; I shifted to my side so that it swiped harmlessly to my left. A horizontal swing; I ducked out of the way. Alex's leg tried to go for a sweep; I somersaulted over it. As I rolled on the ground to break my fall, an instinct told me a strike was coming. I heeded it and extended my roll, narrowly avoiding the instrument of pain that slammed into the spot I previously was. I picked myself off the ground, preparing for further attacks.

Alex had a grin plastered on his face, giving me a sense that he was finding our sparring entertaining. I was breathing heavy, desperate to find a way to not lose despite the odds.

'Your tie is wrong, by the way,' he muttered. Damn this blasted tie.

'Your advice is appreciated.' I kept my eyes on the mace, my reply short.

'Come on, Balthazar. Loosen up a…' Before he finished, the mace lunged forward.

I had been expecting that; attacking in midst of a sentence was like the oldest trick in the book of dirty street fighting; the sort of fights I had been involved in for the majority of my life. I sidestepped it and closed the distance between us, intent on attacking his wrist to break his grip on his weapon while it was past me. I raised my hands and was about to strike… when a slam came from my right, flinging me to the side.

I soared a bit of distance before the painful and humiliating landing. Although my aura had protected me from physical damage, it did not prevent my disorientation. For a moment, the concept of top and bottom merged into one. It took a wobbly second or five for them to separate. When I finally distinguished the two enough to look up, a hand was outstretched, waiting for me. Behind it was the Lestia's beaming face, the only clear image among the disorderly world. I held on and pulled myself up.

'Which is a better weapon? A sharp one the enemy expects or the blunt one he does not perceive?' Alex asked. I did not answer, mulling over the rhetorical question. Although the odds had been against me, I still had hoped to stand my ground, or at least make Alex work for the victory. Apparently the gap in combat prowess between a trained and an untrained cadet was larger than I had first imagined. It was irrational for me to be upset at my shortcoming but I was anyway.

Lestia jostled my head. 'Cheer up, Balthazar. You would have totally kicked Alex's ass with a weapon.' She stretched my cheeks upwards to make a smile. Not missing a beat, Alex took a snap of my expression on his scroll.

'Ugh. Gedd obb me.' I yanked her hands away. Normally her fooling around would have cheered me up but it wasn't having any effect now. I snatched Alex's scroll, deleted the picture and drained all the charges in the battery with malfunction just for spite. The scroll flickered and died in my hands, drawing the eyes of my two team members. I tossed it back to Alex.

Lestia intercepted in mid-air. 'Ooh. It's your semblance, isn't it? The scroll's broken now.' She tapped it a few times, received no response from the device and handed it to Alex. He repeated her first action and grimaced when he received the same response.

'Wow, not cool, Balthazar. Well, kind of cool, I guess, but still a pain. I had some important documents there.'

'I just drained the battery, go charge it again.' I considered for a second. 'You possibly might need a new battery though. Not sure.' I shrugged. I was still upset over my complete loss.

Lestia picked up on my mood. 'Aww, Balty is grumpy! You shouldn't be so down, leader man. There is no need to become upset over fights; you should enjoy them!' She gave me a hug to lessen my agitation. It was a well meant move but a wrong one; physical contact has always caused me uneasiness. Handshakes were fine; they were small and brief. Those more intimate than that always discomfited me.

I pried her off. 'Maybe you can afford to lose battles and still be happy about it. I can't,' I snapped.

Alex frowned, 'Wow there; chill up. I don't see why not. It was just a practice to get you comfortable using your aura. Why would you be so fixated on winning?'

'It's not about winning. It's about…' I did not know how to explain to them.

It was not about winning a fight that was important to me; it was about not losing. Thieves usually never won. We were too weak to match our opponents most of the time. To us, what was important was to not lose because our losses were more often than not expensive. A dead teammate. A client's fee annulled. A possible end to career. These were just some of the possible prices a loss could cost; there were many, many more. Thieves in general were the poor sort, hence the reason for being a thief, and we treasured what we had greatly due to that. For us, it was acceptable to cheat, betray or flee in a fight if that meant we got to keep what little we had.

Right now, I was the weakest member of the team. While I had been skulking around in the dark breaking and entering, most of the students in Beacon had been training and fighting with Grimm and each other. Around me were people who scoffed at things and situations that stirred in me terror and panic. It was only yesterday that I learned everyone had access to aura and not just those who trained as warriors.

Worse off, I was supposed to be the team leader. Me. The guy who was the weakest. The guy who was the least inspiring. The guy who was the most unenthusiastic. The guy who was the biggest joke.

I hated losing but was the biggest loser.

Maybe it was a bad idea coming to Beacon.

Lestia nudged me with her elbow, not aware of my dark mood. 'Come on, Balthazar. Tomorrow's our first Combat Tactics class. We should train as much as we can so as to not make a fool of ourselves.' She grabbed my arm and tried to drag me back to our training area.

I was already making a fool of myself, I thought. If that was so, I was wasting everyone's time here. I pushed her off, causing her to lose balance and fall. My hand went for the emergency smoke grenade; I pulled its pin and released its lever.

'Lestia, are you alright?' Alex was approaching, worried about her. When the grenade detonated, he was also caught in the area of effect of grenade.

As the smoke engulfed me and allowed my escape, my eyes met with hers. They were full of hurt.

It weighed on my mind as I left the scene.

-x-x-x-x-

The Beacon Librarium was much more than just a room full of shelves full of books. Admittedly, that was what most of the library was filled with: shelves full of books. However, the sheer scale had elevated it to a level worthy of a better term. To me, this place seemed to be a comprehensive repository of world's knowledge.

Still, my sample size for libraries was rather small; reading had never truly appealed to me and nobody had ever hired my services to steal something that was being lent out for free. Maybe I was simply being overawed by the first grand library I have seen in my life.

Feeling like a foreign tourist impressed with a museum, I shook my head to clear the digression. I was here to meet Circe, not admire her place of preference. I looked around and did not spot her in vicinity. With my concentration back on the task, my heart fell a bit, realizing the scope of the task.

While the Librarium was a great place to be reading, it was not an easy place to search for people who were reading. This place was clearly larger than the assembly area or the ballroom and the shelves severely obstructed my lines of sight. It was forbidden to raise my voice so I could not call for her either. Circe switched off her scroll in the library so that nobody could disturb her. Although the restricted part of the library was inaccessible to both of us and that reduced my area of search to roughly half, it was still a massive amount of ground to cover. If I wanted to find her, it would have to be through long and tedious manual search on foot.

I steeled my heart. I needed to speak to her. She had told me she thought I was best fit to be the leader among the four of us and it had become necessary for me to know why. If it required me to wander the aisles blindly for hours fruitlessly, so be it. That was a price I was willing to pay.

As I wrecked my brain to remember her choice in books, all I could recall was that they were fictional books. I could not recall what genres the books were though. It looked like that I would have to comb through all of them then.

When I arrived at the fiction section of the library, my jaw dropped. Aw, crap. I have underestimated this task gravely. This sector was not going to be easily explored. No sense in procrastinating then. I began to dart through the passages, looking for the telltale purple hairs of hers.

As I was turning a corner, I bumped into another person. Well, to say I bumped into her was to put it mildly. If I were to be accurate for the sake of integrity, it would have to be said that I crashed into her, tripped and we tumbled down to the ground. However, who cares about integrity these days, right? Let's just say I bumped into someone and leave it at that.

I opened my eyes that were clenched shut during the collision and found myself looking into golden eyes. I have never seen golden eyes before and it captured my attention for a moment. Eventually my scope of perception expanded and I saw her face in its entirety, all the way to her wavy black hair and the bow perched on the top of her head. She was quite a mesmerizing figure. She also had a startled expression on her face. I wondered why.

Then I noticed how close our faces were and how the gap between our bodies was even smaller.

'Uwahh!' I retreated hurriedly. My face felt as if they were on fire. 'I'M SORRY-I DIDN'T PLAN TO FALL ON YOU-IT WAS AN ACCIDENT-PLEASE, DON'T KILL ME-I AM TOO PRETTY TO DIE!' I wasn't even aware of what I was rambling, so intent on apologizing.

To my surprise, she was giggling. She was trying to suppress it but it leaked out. I gawked at her, not understanding what was humorous in the situation. 'Did you just say you were "too pretty to die"?' she asked.

The shame should have killed me. It knew letting me live was crueler. Therefore, it allowed my humiliating existence.

'Angel of Mercy, grant me cardiac arrest now.' I muttered, knocking my head to the bookshelf by my side.

'I think the angel is finding you far too pretty.' Groaning at her reply, I knocked my head again.

'I'm going to ruin my face enough to get killed then. Nice knowing you.' Ugh, I still can't believe I had said that. It was something Harmony and I used to say to each other – a form of apology, one might say – when we were trying to dissipate each other's anger after a fight or something. I knocked my head again.

'That's rather inconsistent. Weren't you begging me not to kill you just now?' Another knock.

'Worst request I've made in the last twenty-four hours.' Another knock.

'I'm Blake, by the way.' She introduced herself.

The worst wave of embarrassment had gone by now and I was able to face her temporarily. 'Balthazar.' I looked at the rows of books again.

'You got your tie wrong, by the way.' Damn this blasted tie.

'The tie and I have not yet established a working relationship. I'll get it right eventually.'

She frowned at my reply. 'What I meant was…'

'Balthazar?' A voice came from behind me and it was frosty enough to halt volcanic eruption in its tracks. Blake saw past me and froze.

'Circe?' I turned. Lo and behold, here was the girl I had originally came to the library for. She was in the girl's uniform, although looking a great deal more comfortable than I felt in mine. Generally, she looked as she always did: relaxed and composed. I had not been expecting the soul chilling glare she was giving me, however. She was furious with me.

She took a step towards and I involuntarily shifted backwards. That was about as far as I got to run away. Any further attempts of escape were found to be impossible, my limbs simply refusing to comply with my desperate pleas to flee. It was as if she had glaciated me. Behind me, I sensed Blake moving away to distance herself from me. Smart girl.

Circe reached me in a calm pace. She grabbed me by the collar and dragged my face to inches from hers. I could see her beautiful violet eyes, her nose and her lips in detail. I would have been bothered by our intimacy if I was not so terrified of her cold expression.

She whispered, 'why do you fracture the peace of the Librarium?'

'I needed to… needed to speak to you.'

'Do not invade my sanctuary and shatter its essence. I will not permit it.' She declared seriously. I gulped and nodded. 'Leave. We shall converse in our dorm, once my anger is past.'

I obediently followed her comment, departing with haste.

-x-x-x-x-

Currently, I was sitting on the floor outside the confines of the library, calming my heart. As you can imagine, the whole incident did nothing to bolster confidence in my leadership capacity. I basked in misery, feeling wretched.

'Well, hello there,' said a male voice. What now? I looked up to find a guy in combat attire. He appeared only a few years my senior. An upperclassman.

'Yes?' I retorted curtly.

'Could I ask for a favor?'

'Do I know you?' I inquired.

'Probably not. Never met you before,' he commented.

'So why are you asking for my help?'

'Because you seemed like you had nothing better to do than to wallow in your sorrow for the next four hours. I thought I would do the school a favor by removing you from sight. I also save you the embarrassment of being seen in that atrocious tie of yours. Instead, you get to stay in a nice, quiet place to contemplate what went wrong today.' He grinned snidely.

I was going to refuse when the last sentence caught my ears.

I could do with a nice, quiet place.

So like the idiot I am, I agreed to help.

-x-x-x-x-

Ten minutes later, we were on the rooftop.

The upperclassman was looking around, as if lost. I was feeling suspicious as all hell, keeping my distance. In general, rooftops were where unsanctified stuffs tended to happen. My hand kept reaching for the emergency smoke grenade that was no longer there. Maybe I should start carrying two of those around.

He scratched his head. 'I could have sworn it was on this building. Damn it.'

I have had it with being led about without an explanation. 'You! Tell me what this is about this insta…' There was a mechanical sound as the upperclassman's leg greaves unfolded to encase his feet. I backed away, checking the surroundings for escape routes for the incoming attack.

The attack never came. 'Wait here for awhile, will you? I'm going to take a look around.' There was a brief whine of charging sound from his sollerets then the guy just blasted straight up at least fifty metres.

He jumped up fifty metres. Jumped.

You know what was the worst part? I was not even shocked anymore. My brain was processing the feat I had just witnessed as something of a norm. It's official; Beacon madness is contagious.

Before my thoughts could continue, he landed lightly in front of me. He dusted himself casually as if it was something he did every day. Maybe it was.

'I found it. We are on the wrong building, it seemed. This way.' He ran towards the edge of the building and jumped down. Go figure. Why did I even consider that he would take the stairs? I followed after him to the edge and looked down. It was about two storeys of a drop. I could make it.

The very fact that I considered the drop manageable showed just how badly Beacon madness had infected me already.

-x-x-x-x-

After another ten minutes later, we were on another rooftop, several blocks away from the original one.

Before me was our destination; something that appeared to be a giant pavilion. When I mean giant, I meant really big. There was a circular area at its centre that I had a sneaking suspicion was a dueling arena; a dueling arena that could have easily housed an airship. The outer ring – probably the spectators' seat – was wide enough to seat at least the entire first year population. The structure looked sturdy, as if it was built to last instead of being pleasing to the eye. All in all, it was an impressive construction.

Or it would have been, if it was not packed full with covered-up furniture. I was starting to see why I was brought here.

'Welcome to the Coliseum. Well, it used to be called that. Now I think it's just a junkyard.' He muttered disapprovingly.

'Let me guess. You want me to clear all these, don't you?'

He clapped delightedly. 'You are quick. I like that in an underling.'

'I am not your underling.' I gritted my teeth.

'I never said you were. I was just sharing my preferences in underlings.' He smiled.

'Whatever. Let's get this over with.' I did not feel like retorting. I just wanted to get on with the work.

He raised his eyebrow and considered me. 'That's it? No violent outburst of protest? No refusal for further cooperation?'

I could not be bothered with all that; all I really wanted was some solitude. 'Can I destroy these?' If I had some school property I could destroy to vent my frustration on, that was a bonus.

He seemed pleased with my question. 'Sure. Knock yourself out. Can even burn them for all I care. Now, let me introduce to you your workmate.' He yelled out, 'Miss Nikos! Come here please!'

From among the junk walked out a red haired girl with vivid green eyes. She was quite tall for a girl and had the athlete's figure. Her stance informed me she was currently on guard. Hmm. To be precise, she was the type that is perpetually on guard. A good fighter, that's a given, and a diligent one. She approached us. 'Hello. Name's Pyrrha Nikos.' She introduced herself politely.

Now that she was closer, my awareness returned to her height. Was she taller than me? I was of average height. She was quite above a girl's average height. It was a distinct possibility.

I realised that my own introductions were in order. 'Balthazar Venarius. First year. Nice to meet you.' The sun was coming out of the clouds, casting its scorching rays on us, so I subconsciously made my way towards the Coliseum's shade. Pyrrha followed.

'I am a first year as well. I'm from Team JNPR,' she stated.

Upon mention of teams, my mood turned gloomy. 'Team BLAC.' I omitted out my leadership role. Hoping to change the subject, I whirled around to find the upperclassman. A thorough scan of surroundings told me he had already left the scene. 'Where is he?'

'Looks like he's gone again,' she replied. She did not seem surprised.

'Does he do this often?' She nodded.

She snuck a peek at my tie. 'Your tie is wrong, by the way.'

'I know, I know; people had been telling me that the whole day. I guess I will fix it once I go back to dorm.'

'Oh,' she muttered. She seemed a bit lost for words. 'I look forward to working with you.' She turned her attention to the discarded bookshelf next to her. With quick strikes she took them apart, stacking the wooden material into a neat pile to the side.

'Likewise.' I began my work as well.

-x-x-x-x-

This warehouse had a lot of weird things. So far, I had found an old military cannon, a portable bathing cubicle, a three-metre high stuffed doll and a statue of a two-faced man – and these were just the things I could think of at the top of my head. I was trying to drag the statue outside but was finding it to be a lot heavier than I can manage.

Simple pushing was not budging it at all. I kicked the thing at the centre out of irritation. The statue wavered, toppled and collapsed to side, shattering into pieces with a crash. Dust poured out, covering the floor in heaps.

Oh, a dust filled statue. Of course. Just the sort of thing this Academy would have lying about.

'Balthazar, are you alright?' Pyrrha's worried voice sounded out. She emerged from wherever she had been working in and inspected all over me, checking for injuries.

I got uncomfortable with her look over. 'Hey, hey. I am fine. The statue fell apart, that's all.'

'I did not mean just that,' said Pyrrha.

'Huh? What do you mean?'

'Balthazar, I don't want to sound presumptuous but it's obvious that you are rather perturbed.'

Her words took me by surprise. 'How… how did you know that?'

'Well. You tossed all the empty flowerpots against the metallic barricade over there, shredded an old school banner into thin ribbons and hammered away those empty paint jars long after they became as flat as sheet.'

Wow. I didn't even know I was doing all these. 'I… don't want to talk about it.'

She flushed, 'I'm sorry. I was just being intrusive, wasn't I? I should mind my own business.'

'No, no. It's not that.' I shook my head. 'Come, let's take a break for awhile, shall we?' We grabbed a pair of rickety chairs and plopped on top of them. 'I will tell you the issue later. Give me awhile to prepare myself,' I requested.

'As you wish,' she nodded.

My curiosity voiced itself, 'so what's your relationship with the guy who brought me here? What kind of a guy is he?'

She let out a noise of surprise. 'Huh? Did he just enlist your help as well?'

So we were in the same shoe. 'Yup. Approached me and asked for my help. Said I could get to be alone with my thoughts. I needed that, so I agreed to this scam of a deal.'

'I do not know anything about him as well; not even his name. He asked for my assistance after I was done with my training. He seemed earnest and I was free for the day so I offered to help.' There was a short span of silence. 'Does this mean I am impeding your desire to be alone?' She asked cautiously.

I shook my hands to deter such thoughts. 'No, no, no. I think it's a good thing you are here. If I was really here alone, I would get all mopey.'

A worried frown creased her brows. 'So what's wrong?'

Sigh. 'I am a team leader,' I blurted.

She smiled at my declaration. 'That's wonderful!' She caught herself. 'What's wrong with being a team leader?'

'There's nothing wrong with being a team leader. What's wrong is me. I am the weakest in my team. I never really had warrior training before this. This place is full of people far out of my league. I feel so out of depth that I feel like I could never catch up, much less lead a team. I am scared I will drag my team down when they all have the potential to be the best if it was not me as their leader.'

'Ah.' I looked at her to find her eyeing me fondly.

'Umm, Pyrrha? Why are you looking at me like that?'

That banished the look of affection. 'What do you mean?'

'You were looking at me as if I was a stray cat which finally decided to accept your petting after weeks of aloofness.' Trust me; I knew what I was talking about. Harmony had the exact same look then.

'That's incredibly detailed,' she commented, 'still, I wouldn't say you were wrong. You see, you reminded me of my team's leader.'

'How so?' I had no clue who her leader was; I really did not pay attention during team announcement ceremony. However, if he was able to command someone like her, he must be quite amazing. I could not possibly be like him.

'He is quite insecure, always feeling out of place here. He has problem telling us what to do because he feels he is the worst in the team. He avoids problems instead of colliding them head on.'

'Oh.' Well, that did sound like me. 'You sure you are not talking about me?' I had to ask.

'Quite.' She gave me a knowing smile. 'The rest of the team thinks he is a great leader though.'

'Why is that?'

'Because he is not arrogant. He does not even consider abusing his authority. When he does tell us something, we know it's not for his sake but for all of ours. We are very aware of ourselves but can be blind about the traits of others. He, however, sees us all just as well as he sees himself. His orders are never some impulsive commands to sate his ego.'

I listened in silence.

'Being a leader is about trust, in a way. He trusts our capabilities, we trust his judgment,' she concluded.

I thought about her words. I thought about my teammates. It has only been three or four days I have known them but I felt as if I had known them half my life already. I considered how much I trusted them; with all my heart, I realised. Maybe I could do this leader thing after all.

'Pyrrha, you are wonderful.' I took her hand and kissed the back of it.

She snatched her hand in surprise. Crimson tinged her cheeks, becoming a slight shade lighter than her hair. 'You…are welcome.' She did not stutter. She may get flushed but would not let herself be bashful, I see.

With my mood lifted, I felt restless with boredom. I needed some fun. An idea formed; a wild smile lit my face. 'I'm sick of all these useless furniture; are you? I am thinking of clearing out with them in one shot.'

'How do you plan to do that?'

'We have a military cannon, an inexhaustible supply of scrap material and a mound of dust.' I let her connect the dots.

A flicker of understanding appeared, swiftly replaced by shock. 'You are serious?'

'I wouldn't say that. I am not a serious person. I am more like crazy.' My eyes darted towards the junks before me, analyzing which I can use to create makeshift cannon shells.

'What if the shots damage the school?'

'I think the giant doll over there can be a good fodder for cannon shots, among other things.' I thumbed towards the three-metre tall stuffed animal. 'You in?'

She seemed torn. I grabbed her hand and dragged her into the scrap jungle, eager to blow things apart.

-x-x-x-x-

With my job concluded in the Coliseum – I wished all jobs were as fun as that one –, I had one last order of business today. I stood in front of the door to my room, wondering if I would ever get to leave again once I entered.

If I must die, so I shall; I thought philosophically. The fact that I was resorting to philosophy showed how scared I was. I hardened my resolve and stepped into possible demise.

Lestia, Circe and Alex were all in their nightwear, ready to sleep for the night. They looked up at the sound of the opening door and saw me.

I got tackled to the ground immediately by a green haired blur.

Lestia was not letting me go. Circe closed the book she was reading and shifted her focus to me. Alex had his arms crossed. 'We need to speak, Balthazar,' he announced sternly.

I gulped, waiting for the reprimand. The three of them exchanged glances.

'We are sorry!' They said as one.

Wait. What?

'I'm sorry I pushed you so hard! I just wanted to train with you.' Lestia was tearing up.

'I guess I am guilty of that as well.' Alex mumbled.

'I should not have chased you from the library in such a manner. You are my team leader, after all.' Circe clarified.

'Wait! You got it all wrong,' I shouted, 'I am the one who should be apologizing.' I turned to Alex and Lestia. 'I know you guys were looking out for me, trying to teach me how to use my aura since I only had it for a day.' I turned to Circe. 'I should not have caused so much ruckus in the one place you sought peace. I am extremely sorry.' More looks were exchanged among them.

Lestia was the first to respond. 'Yay! Our leader is back to normal!' She was hugging me now; I tried to unlatch myself as gently as possible.

'So it would appear,' Circe agreed. She was back to her placid self. 'So why did you seek me out?'

'I needed to know something. I already found the answer though.'

'That is pleasing to hear.' She returned to her book. I noticed a small smile on her face.

Alex was about to say something, noticed how Lestia was hogging me and decided he was not going to interrupt. 'Your smoke is some nasty stuff, by the way. You should carry more of it.' He tossed that out there and went to Circe to disturb her reading. She seemed irritated, as expected, but still responded to her friend.

That left me with Lestia. 'I'm sorry, Lestia.' I muttered.

'I know you are,' she replied merrily. 'I'm going to be mad if you make a fool of yourself in the Combat Tactics Class tomorrow.

'Yes, ma'am.'

'So where were you the whole day?'

'Oh, this and that.' I shrugged, or tried to. 'You might have seen me at work. There was a rather big pillar of smoke.'

Look of envy surfaced. 'That was you? No way! Why didn't you invite me? What were you doing?'

This was going to get her mad. 'Nothing much. It just involved a cannon, a bunch of cannonballs and a lot of targets.'

She whacked me. 'I can't believe you left me out! Why would you do such thing; hoarding the fun all alone?'

'Oh, I wouldn't say I was alone,' I teased.

'You did all that with somebody else? Now you are just being mean.'

'I know. I will make it up to you.'

'You know I will hold you to that.' Her eyes were serious.

'Yup.'

'As long as you are aware.' Her hands went to my throat. 'You got your tie wrong, by the way.'

I was getting sick of hearing that. 'Screw the bloody tie. I am going to take it off. I can tie it properly tomorrow.'

Lestia laughed. 'Silly Balthazar. That's not what I meant. I literally meant you got the wrong tie. You are supposed to get the clip-on model.'

I was dumbfounded. Alex had given me this tie to wear; it could not have been that he was unaware… Of course he was aware. Oh, I was going to get him for this.

While I plotted my vengeance against the flame-haired friend, Lestia undid and redid the knot. 'There you go,' she announced. I could tell that it was properly made, just from her contented expression. 'Not bad eh? Now everything's all straightened out.'

My hand reached for it; it felt proper. 'Yeah, it has.'

Lestia got off me at last. 'Well, since you were gone the whole day burning god knows what, you are going to tell me your story.'

I protested, 'but I am sleepy.' I wasn't lying. A yawn was coming every few minutes.

'No buts. You need to know the price of leaving me out of fun. Come along, we have the whole night.'

Refusal was futile. 'I will definitely never leave you behind again.'

'Damn right.'

-x-x-x-x-

**A/N: Right. It's up. This is a filler chapter so I am kind of amazed that it has so much word count in it. If you think the chapter is too long or draggy, please comment. I need to know these things.**

**I managed to get Balthazar to be in contact with two pre-existing characters. I hope they were not OOC. I did keep the interaction rather minimal so even I couldn't have broken them in that short period. Hopefully.**

**I was hoping to have him talk to a guy for his chat with pre-existing character but the girls just outnumber the guys and they just didn't fit. Jaune, Ren and Cardin… Yeah. They did not fit the scenes. They will come soon too, although I make no promises.**


	6. Chapter 6: Chance Encounters

**DISCLAIMER: Those that ought to belong to others shall belong to their respective owners. Those that ought to belong to me, if any, shall belong to me.**

-x-x-x-x-

Chance Encounters

Fun fact: Lestia can run on three and a half hours of sleep and be completely fine the day after.

The experience necessary to learn this fact was much less fun, I assure you. When she said I had the whole night to tell her the story of what I have been doing during the day, I was naïve enough to assume she was being metaphorical. I should have known better.

She pestered me for details of everything. How were the new people I met, how did I destroy the furniture and why did I detonate a smoke grenade in the middle of our training. The last one had been really awkward; it took my everything to get her mind off that.

Anyway, to put it in a nutshell; it was the longest night I have had in awhile and I was feeling its full effect on my body.

I possessed no immunity from sleep deprivation like my partner did. To make matters worse, I did not have a proper dinner last night being busy clearing out the rubbish in the Coliseum. Therefore, hunger and drowsiness were deeply embedded into my system and they were playing hell with my mental faculties.

Currently, I was in the cafeteria for breakfast. In the dimness of my mind, I recalled arriving here with the rest of the Team BLAC. Where are they? Before I could search, however, my fatigue deemed the question insignificant and returned me to a blank state. All other thought processes of higher order were quelled just as entirely. My two weaknesses had absolute control over me.

Although there was nothing I could do about being sleepy, there was a way to reduce my hunger. One overriding directive came from my brain: find appetizing food and obtain them. Everthing else was irrelevant.

I obeyed. If you asked me about the process I wouldn't be able to tell you but somehow I acquired a plate of breakfast consumables, placed myself on a seat and began devouring the subsistence before me. Little by little, my mind was revived.

'Remnant to Balthazar? You're starting to creep me out, you know.' Alex waved his hand in front of my face. I looked up. 'Ah, a reaction. Looks like he's not brain dead after all.'

'Scientifically speaking, a brain dead people can still give involuntary responses to stimuli,' Circe quipped.

Lestia joined in, 'so he's still a zombie? Awesome. I always did want a pet zombie; had been one of my childhood dreams.' She was by my side and at her words my eyes flickered to her. As usual, her plate contained heaps of food. Tantalizing, alluring food.

'You are freaking weird, Lestia. You know that?' I muttered.

'Ah. He speaks. Our zombie is lost.' Alex grinned. Circe rolled her eyes.

Lestia pouted, 'aww. He would have been a cute one too.' She bit into another pancake, as if to console herself. The pancake seemed fabulous. I bit into one as well.

'On what have you been pondering?' Circe was already finishing her meal, not having taken much in the first place. She took a handkerchief and wiped her mouth.

'I wasn't thinking about anything. I just become like this when I'm really hungry. And sleepy.' I shot Lestia an accusatory glare as I growled out the last bit.

Being absolutely oblivious, Lestia chirped delightedly. 'Ooh, I know. You were excited about the Combat Tactics class too, weren't you? I couldn't sleep a wink last night thinking about how awesome it would be!' She was practically bobbing up and down at the thought.

Alex chuckled out. 'If that's so, then you gotta stop snoring while you think. It's irritating enough when you do it in your sleep; doing it while you're awake is inexcusable.'

'Hey! I don't snore!' She shouted indignantly. Then she asked me uncertainly. 'Do I?'

Why would you do this to me the first thing in the morning, Alex? All I wanted to do was to eat to heart's content in peace.

I opted for the path of kindness and cowardice. 'You don't snore.' Gobbling up the last bit of the pancake, I grabbed a waffle.

Lestia seemed relieved. 'See, I don't snore. Balthazar says so.' She stuck out her tongue to Alex before returning to me. 'For that, I will forgive you for eating my food.'

Wait, what? When did I eat her food? I looked at the waffle in my hand. It had the strawberry jam and chocolate spread; her favorite fillings. Oh no. I have been eating her food and was not even aware it.

Alex piped in. 'Actually, leader man, she raises a very interesting point. Why would you take our food instead of just getting them from the counters? It's not like we gotta pay for them or anything.' His tone wasn't accusing, just simply curious.

My face burned with embarrassment. I haven't done this ever since my childhood.

In those days I was often weak and starving. Faced with the possibility of imminent death, the concept of ownership did not hold to me and I often instinctively just grabbed whatever I found that was edible. There were times I stole other's food right before their eyes and paid hefty prices for my bold misdemeanor. Although I was no longer in danger of starving, it seemed the habit had not been completely flushed out of my system; the extreme hunger and weariness must have retriggered it.

Whatever the case, it did not lessen my shame. 'I'm sorry I took your breakfast. I didn't even know I was eating your food! I'll go get some for you right now.' I made to stand, only to be pulled down by Lestia.

'Relax, Balty. I said I forgive you.' She was smiling, letting the matter drop. I relaxed at her generosity and began munching on an apple. Wow, this apple is good.

Circe studied it for awhile then spoke, 'since we are all asking questions, I have one as well. Where did you get that apple? It is not part of the menu.' Huh? I paused and tried to remember where I got this fruit. Where did it come from?

'Hey. That's right! They aren't serving apples today; where did you get that?' Lestia added.

I observed the half-eaten apple in my hand, wrecking my brain to remember its origins. 'Hmm. I can't remember.'

Alex was about to comment when a rather obtrusive outcry came from a table few rows away. It was impossible to miss, like a crack of thunder.

'What do you mean I am overreacting? Something of mine was stolen. Stolen! Don't you dare say this is a small matter!' My attention turned towards the source of the commotion.

The source was none other than Weiss Schnee, formerly known to me as the girl in white. She was sitting with the rest of her team – well, she was standing now, but you get my point. By her side were the two girls I had eavesdropped on in the airship ride to Beacon – I must have heard their names at the end of Initiation but they eluded me – and the golden eyed girl I met in the Librarium yesterday, the one who had introduced herself as Blake. The small girl in red was saying something to Weiss and it was evident from her expression that she was trying to placate the heiress.

As usual, my heart did a double take upon the sight of the heiress. Although the possibility was small, there was always a chance for her to recognize me. I had to get out of here. I began plotting an exit that would attract the least attention when Weiss resumed complaining loudly enough for all nearby to hear her displeasure.

'No, Ruby! I know how many I had. What do you think I am; a dolt?' The girl in red called Ruby said something else. Instantly, Weiss conveyed her outrage. 'Don't tell me that it's just an apple! What's important about the apple is that it was my possession! Something that's mine got stolen!'

Did she just say an apple? The gazes of the members of Team BLAC went to the half-consumed fruit resting in my hand. There was a stretch of tense silence.

'You didn't.' Alex muttered, voicing out for the three of them.

'I really don't know.' I squeaked. I wondered if I looked as terrified as I felt.

'I think you should hide that.' Circe opined, being the ever practical one. There was a slight edge to her tone, as if something was fraying her patience. Is she mad at me? Well, regardless, her advice was a sound one. I almost followed it. Almost.

Are you aware of the difference between a man who survived and a man who almost survived? The distinction seems small but is painfully contrasting. Almost is an incredibly deceptive word.

I'll say one thing; Fortune knows how to scoff at my affairs. As I almost hid the apple out of people's sight, Weiss Schnee turned towards my direction. Despite the numerous people around me, our eyes met. Then hers shifted towards my hand. A flicker of confusion shone in her face, rapidly replaced with that of anger.

A flash of what was to come played in my head. She would approach me and nothing would stop her. She would brand me a thief publicly and the apple in my hand would condemn me. With a reputation of a thief, my social standing will deteriorate and I shall become an outcast. Four years of isolation and seclusion awaited me, followed by a bitter end.

I might be being slightly overdramatic. What can I say; that girl is scary.

As a thief, I have learned many things most people have not. One of them was the wisdom of cowardice.

Before she had taken even one step towards me, I was already gone amidst the crowd.

-x-x-x-x-

When I wish not to be found, I can do it quite well. I have done this against the police, rival thieves and angry clients in the past. Suffice to say, a huntress cadet in training had no real chance finding me if I really put my mind against it. However, this only held true if my freedom of movement was not restricted. If circumstances were to force my whereabouts in my stead, the probability of my discovery and capture rose significantly.

Unfortunately, having to attend a class was one such circumstance.

At the last possible second, I entered the Combat Tactics classroom. It was similar to any other lecture rooms. The key difference was the podium. For other lessons, a variety of things were on the stage where the professors taught. Whiteboard, tables, chairs; these kind of things. The podium for this room was strangely empty.

As I had hoped, most of the seats were filled up. Praying to Fortune that Weiss would not spot me, I dashed to the last remaining empty seat in the back row. I kept my head down just in case of an unlucky eye contact. Call me paranoid, but it has happened once before. Knowing my luck, it could happen again. I waited in silence for her scream as she located me.

It did not happen. It looked like I dodged the bullet for now.

By my side, two students were merrily chatting away, unaware of my plight. 'Do you think Weiss forgot that she has class? She seemed really pissed just now.' At mention of the heiress, my head snapped to the left. My eyes bulged out at whom I found.

Holy crap. I hate you, Fortune.

Right beside me were the two of Weiss's team. The one called Ruby and her elder sister, the blond girl. Luckily, they were not aware of me and I was going to do everything in my power to maintain that. I looked straight forward to ensure I remained unnoticed.

Ruby replied to her sister, 'I don't think so, Yang. Weiss wouldn't miss class for the world.' A sigh escaped her lips. 'I just hope whoever sitting beside her leaves her alone, for their own sake.'

'Well, as long it isn't me, I wanna watch. Ought to be more fun than class.' The one called Yang grinned expectantly.

Whatever Ruby would have said to that would remain forever unsaid because at that moment the professor for Combat Tactics lesson walked up to the podium – in all honesty, it looked more like a dueling area to me. Silence abruptly fell in the class, everyone's focus converging on the lone figure in front of us. He was rather young, seemingly only a few years above my age. He was wearing a cloak which hid his body. He was above average height but only slightly so. His hair was black and simple. All in all, he seemed like an everyday guy. However, he captivated all our attention.

Today – three days after the initiation – was the first Combat Tactics class of the year. However, the class was already semi-famous among the students. The reason for this was simple; there had been no information regarding the professor conducting the lessons. When message for lesson preparation came through our scrolls, there had been only two instructions; the venue and to be armed for the class. Nothing else. The professor had been a complete mystery.

Guess my surprise when I realised that I have met the professor previously.

There was no mistake. The professor for Combat Tactics class was none other than the upperclassman who had me clean up the Coliseum the day before. I shook my head. At no point had the man said he was an upperclassman. I had assumed that by myself since he was only a few years older than me.

The fact that he became a professor in Beacon at such young age was intriguing. I wondered just how strong he was.

His pace was leisurely, giving the impression of him being lazy. He seemed unaware of the stares everyone was giving him. He stood in the centre of the empty stage and inspected us with a glance over.

'Sup, people. I'm your teacher.' He waved in a decidedly informal manner.

'As you all know, this is the Combat Tactics class. Used to be taught by Havelock but the old man got some family stuff in his hometown.' He took out a canned drink from his pocket.

'When Havelock quit, somebody had to replace him, of course. You can't have a class with just a bunch of kids and no adults, can you?' He opened the can with an audible _click._

'I can understand Ozpin's situation; he needed a teacher. What I do not understand is this.' He paused and began to drink. At first, I thought it would just be a sip. Soon, I realised he was downing the can in one shot. Once he finished, he continued on speaking.

'Why would he, in the name of all things holy and sacred, think it would be a good idea to MAKE ME A TEACHER?!' The can was crushed in his hands.

Nobody answered. Really, how do you answer that?

The professor – I was starting to doubt whether that was an appropriate title – looked at the crumpled can in his hand. He shrugged and it disappeared into the folds of his cloak. His composure seemed to be back, his momentary irritation banished.

'My name's Melanis Ithel. First name is for those who consider me your friend or instructor. Ithel is for those who wish to ask me out on a date; guys are expressly forbidden from pronouncing the word.' A small laughter rang out, breaking the uncomfortable silence from before.

He continued with his introduction. 'Those who call me professor or sir will be assumed hostile and dealt with prejudice. I've not earned the right, nor do I possess the desire, to be addressed with such a title.' He paused again to let the last statement sink in.

'I'm here to teach you how to fight and how to defend. And it's my philosophy that experience is the best teacher; better than me, at least.'

He looked around, examining us again. 'Who is the strongest here?' was his simple question. Only two had enough conviction to reply immediately.

'I am,' came from Yang. It wasn't loud but was clear enough to carry across the room.

A shout emerged from the other end of the class. 'Me!' I recognized Alex's voice.

A delighted smirk appeared on Melanis's face. 'Ladies and gentlemen. Here are the first two volunteers of the Combat Tactics class. Two of you, come on down.'

The podium was indeed a dueling area after all.

-x-x-x-x-

Everyone was excited. There were chattering everywhere. Bets were made and speculations were born in the crowd.

'Gooo, Yang! Strongest huntress in Beacon!' Ruby cheered loudly for her sister.

Being swept in the moment, I tossed caution to the wind and encouraged my friend as well. 'Go Alex! Show her who's boss!'

The girl glared at me when she heard me cheer the opposition. 'Yang will totally crush that guy. There's no way she will lose to anyone.'

I knew arguing with a girl two years younger was childish but could not stop myself. 'Well, that's funny. Cuz I was thinking the exact same thing.'

'You thought that Yang'll crush that guy too?' A puzzled expression appeared.

'No! I mean there's no way Alex will lose to anyone.'

'I'm sorry but you're in for some disappointment then.' She crossed her arms.

I mimicked her action. 'I toss that right back at you.'

We both huffed and turned away from each other.

Of course, there were two people more thrilled than anybody else with the situation. They eyed each other as Melanis briefed them regarding the conditions for victory.

'The rules are simple. The battle is over when one yields to the other or I deem it impossible to continue. Everything short of permanent injuries or death is permitted. All we clear?' Both sides nodded. 'Any time you are ready then.' With that, he stepped out of the podium and grabbed a seat to join the spectators.

Unlike my initial expectations, they did not immediately leap into combat. This told me two things about Yang; the blond girl was sharp enough to perceive Alex as a threat and she was formidable enough for Alex to perceive her as a threat.

They eyed each other, circling the area. She had her gauntlets up and Alex's mace and shield were drawn and ready. The atmosphere steadily got tenser and soon all conversations died down. The air felt too heavy to breathe; my breaths quickened.

When Alex spoke, it could be heard by all despite its quietness. 'I hope you're not the type that cries after losing.' Typical Alex, giving lip no matter the situation.

'Just for that, I'm gonna smash your face in, tincan.'

'Giving me names already, sweetheart? I love a fast woman.'

'Doubt you can keep up.' A predatory grin settled on her face.

'Let's find out, goldie. Let's find out.' He had a likewise expression.

They surged towards each other.

The _ka-chenk _of guns being cocked rang through the air. An instant later, Yang accelerated mid-air with a shotgun blast from her gauntlets. Alex reacted instantly, bringing up his shield. Her fist collided with it with another shotgun blast. However, the punch was ineffective; Alex took it without even budging. He countered with a shield slam that flung her away, although no damage was done because of her block with the gauntlets.

Before she even landed, Alex darted forward. She saw him coming and modified her trajectory towards him with another shot. The mace bludgeoned down on her as her right hook landed solidly on his chest. Yang was brought to her knees. Alex staggered backwards. Both shirked off the attacks and continued on.

Alex swiped again but overextended. Yang ducked under the swing and launched an uppercut. The blow connected but didn't faze him one bit. He just pulled back the mace and struck her with its pommel. He followed up with a bash with his shield's edge and a heavy thrust with his mace. Yang avoided the former and blocked the latter, but from her grimace I could tell the impact jarred her. However, her pained expression did not last long as she redoubled her efforts with the melee.

She dodged an incoming strike with a somersault and turned it into a launch with a shot. Her timing was perfect, for Alex's stance had not yet recovered after his missed attack and his guard was open. She rolled as she landed by his feet. She translated the roll into a leg sweep, tripping the huntsman. She followed up the disable with a downward punch. It would have been bad for Alex if his shield wasn't up. Knowing her attack has failed, she backed up out of his reach. Using the brief lapse, Alex regained his footings. The two immediately returned to the fray.

My confidence in Alex's victory was a bit shaken by this point. Before, I was convinced of his victory; I simply did not believe it possible there were other monsters in this academy of Alex's caliber. Now, I knew Yang had a fair chance.

In terms of strength, Alex definitely had the upper edge. However, strength alone did not guarantee victories in a battle. Yang fought fluidly, sneaking attacks in from all directions while being hard to hit. Still, Alex's shield control was masterful. If she attacked his left, her attacks were futile and only opened her defences for his counterattacks. She soon realised this and only approached him from his right. However, the mace awaited her there. Each blow she landed came with high price.

After what seemed like hundreds of exchanges, they disengaged, sizing up each other now that they had traded blows. It was an interlude of sorts.

Ruby whispered in awe, 'wow, I've never seen anyone face off Yang like that.'

'Something tells me it's going to become crazier from this point on.' I whispered back.

Down on the podium, Yang and Alex were having their own conversation.

'Damn, goldie. You hit hard.'

'Not bad yourself, tincan. But you gotta let the girl in some more. You'll never get a date otherwise.'

'Sorry, lady. Already taken.'

'Aww, you're breaking my heart.'

'Let me make it up to you.'

'I look forward to it.' All the spent shotgun round casings ejected from her gauntlet and were deftly reloaded.

Just like that, the round two began.

The shots from her gauntlets have changed, looking more like flare than the shotgun. It gave her long range capabilities. She rained shot after shot at Alex, whittling him down from distance, safe from his reprisal.

Alex, however, had a trick up his sleeve as well. His mace began to glow with dust. Wow, I did not know it could do that. When it was fully alight with yellow, he charged towards her. He moved like lightning, many times faster than before. He barreled through the barrage with his shield at the front and closed the distance between the two in a blink of an eye. Yang did not even get a chance to defend before the mace sent her flying into one of the walls.

Alex was not the one to wait for his enemy to get back up to her feet. He chased her to the wall. His mace glowed with red as he slammed it down on her. Jets of flame erupted.

I thought the fight was over then. I was wrong.

The fire that burned was not from the mace. It was from Yang herself. She was changed now, her body blazing. She executed a flurry of strikes, each attack much more aggressive and wilder than before. Her blows were rapid and accompanied with waves of flame. Alex was driven back slowly, being unable to attack and could only defend. Even with all his concentration on the task, his defence began to falter and he obtained damage. He was going to lose at this rate.

All of a sudden, Alex changed his tactic. He abandoned his guard, taking in full some hits, and went for the assault. His mace was glowing light blue. Shards of ice crystallized, tearing into Yang. She was sent flying backwards. The mist that rose with the ice obstructed my view so I was unable to determine her condition

'I hope her hair's okay.' Ruby muttered softly. It seemed a silly thing to worry about but she seemed genuinely concerned.

'What's so special about her hair?' I asked, curious.

Before she could answer, Yang's furious shout filled the room. 'YOU SONOVABITCH!' The aggregate temperature soared a few degrees as her flames intensified.

She leapt towards him and dished out the pain. Alex's reflexes saved him from many hits but for each blows he avoided, three pummeled into him. Her punches were knocking him around. Yang was like demon possessed, smiting Alex for his transgression. She finished her rampage by hammering Alex into the ground. The floor cracked and splintered from the force.

'Yay, Yang! Team RWBY wins!' Ruby cheered happily. Mumblings began in the class, many assuming the same conclusion as the girl beside me.

I was not convinced; my scroll was telling me Alex still had some aura left. 'You might want to sit down. Don't write off Alex yet.'

Alex did not disappoint; silence returned as Alex, now torn and bloody, rose from the ground. The fact that he was so injured despite the aura protecting and healing him was testament to Yang's strength. The fact that he still had aura left was testament to Alex's.

'You, goldie, are one of a kind.' Alex chuckled. Yang looked a bit surprised, as if she did not expect him up after all the beatings he took. Her eye had lost the red glow; it seemed the initial fury that had propelled her attacks were past.

Alex continued, 'allow me to repay you for that magnificent display.' He closed his eyes and chanted gently. I doubted anybody but Yang would have heard it. I only knew what he was saying because I have heard the verse before.

'_**Blessed is the one whose soul is laid bare before the others.'**_

My stomach churned with excitement. Here it was: Alex's semblance. I have only seen it once before and it was one hell of a thing.

A golden phantasm formed around him. It was about three metres tall and radiant in its illuminance. It was encased in scale armor and was armed with a mace and shield just like Alex's, although much bigger. Only the top half of its body had materialized and it hung behind/above Alex as if it were a spirit haunting him. It mimicked Alex's movement, moving its limbs when Alex moved his. Alex made a whipping motion with his mace. The specter's mace connected with the ground and gouged it out

'Wooooah. What is that?' Ruby asked in awe.

'He calls it the "Blessied One". It's like a corporeal projection of his aura.' I explained.

'Corporal project what?'

'It's like a ghost armor.' I simplified.

'That's so awesome.' She sounded like a child looking at a superhero.

It seemed that she was not the only one amazed. Everyone was enthralled by the phantasm, looking at it as if it was a celestial entity. I couldn't fault them; I had the exact impression when I first saw it as well. Yang seemed to be beaming at the prospect of battling such a thing. Her fire began to build up in ferocity once more and her eyes regained its scarlet qualities. Both of them geared up, ready for the final round.

It was not to be.

'That is enough.' Melanis interrupted from his seat. He strolled into between the two of them and stood right in the center. His cloak was swept back, revealing his gauntlets and greaves to be unfolded and combat ready. Although his tone was casual, his demeanor conveyed his seriousness.

Yang and Alex's battle fury stifled, blunted by the professor's command.

'Melanis, we were just about to wrap up.' Alex protested.

'Yeah, I was this close to kicking his ass.' Yang agreed.

Melanis loosened up a little in his stance and rebutted. 'The condition for the battle's end was when one yielded to the other or when I deemed it impossible to continue. Looking at the classroom, I don't consider it suitable for you to carry on. This duel is over; it's a draw.'

He had a point. The room was wrecked. One of the walls was pulverized and the floor looked as if it had been served with an aerial bombardment. The two combatants looked worse for wear. Their auras were mostly depleted, severely diminishing the healing of their wounds. I suspected that had it been any other normal students in such a state, the situation might have been very dire for them. If they really did duke it out, it might lead to a perilous situation.

Alex and Yang knew this as well and stood down. They were not simply letting it go though. From the glimmer in their eyes, there was definitely going be a rematch in the future; they just needed to find a place they could ravage without concern.

Seeing their aggressiveness curbed, Melanis addressed the rest of the students. 'Your assignment to be completed by next class is battle assessment. I want you to analyze everything: their strong points, their weak points, their mistakes. I also want a prediction for today's fight's conclusion; who would have won? Finally, I want you to pick one of the two and give me a fight plan against him or her. If you were facing one of them, what is your strategy? How can you win?'

He turned his attention back to the two duelists. 'Of course, you two are exempt from this assignment. I'm sure it isn't necessary; you're already thinking about the fight. For you two, there's something else; you get to clean up after your mess.' He gestured to the classroom in general.

'The rest of you, dismissed. Staying back to help either of them is not permitted.'

So ended our first Combat Tactics class.

-x-x-x-x-

With the ban on assisting Alex and Yang's clean up in place, I left the classroom with Ruby. We discussed the battle and debated on who would have been the victor. She proved to be rather knowledgeable pertaining to weapons and combat and made admirable cases for her sister. I enjoyed our little back-and-forth.

In fact, I enjoyed it to such an extent that I forgot why I had to sneak into the class and had taken the seat beside her in the first place.

'Hey you, apple thief!' came from behind me, kindly jolting my memory.

I should have bolted. Instead, I turned towards her like an idiot. Weiss Schnee was already approaching me, her rapier drawn. Knowing what's bad for me, I backed away until the wall halted my retreat. Her rapier rested close to my throat, filling me with the sense of déjà vu. This time though, I had no visor to hide my identity or a flashbang to incapacitate her. Maybe I should carry the flashbangs around after all.

'Weiss, what are you doing?' Ruby looked distraught. 'You don't have to stab him just because his friend fought against Yang. He's a nice guy.'

'What are you talking about?' Weiss looked at her confusedly. 'Actually, it doesn't matter. This is the guy who stole my apple this morning.'

Ruby looked startled. 'Is this true?'

Normally, I would have lied myself out. However, my mind was clouded with fear of Weiss and functioned like shit. All it managed in my defence was 'uhm. It was an accident?' Well done, brain. Top performance. My lawyer would have wept at the defence if he was here.

Ignoring my sarcastic intentions, the brain was encouraged by the praise and reminded me that Weiss had heard my voice before and I have just spoken to her. I became aghast.

Apparently though, Weiss did not recognize my voice. She just seemed please with my confession. 'See, I wasn't mistaken. My apple really was stolen.' She told Ruby haughtily.

One positive thing about being terrified was that the adrenaline was kickstarting my mind. I still might be able to weasel out of this situation. 'Actually, I found that apple on the floor. I didn't know whose it was, since there wasn't a name on it or anything, so I decided to just take it.'

Weiss paused to consider the plausibility of my words. 'If so, then why did you run away when our eyes met?'

'Well, you were being terrifying and the apple was already half-eaten at that point; there was no way to return it. I thought I should make myself scarce.' I replied.

Ruby, being the trusting type, seemed to accept my explanation. 'See, Weiss. It's just a misunderstan…' Ruby's words never got completed as another voice interrupted halfway.

'Remove your rapier from my leader, Schnee.' The voice was chilling and frosty and it made my spine tingle with its venom.

All three looked at the speaker. It was Circe, actually looking enraged; the anger she displayed when I raided the library was jovial compared to now. The situation was getting from bad to worse.

Just when I was getting the girl cooled down too. Goddammit. 'Hi, Circe, this isn't what it looks like.' I tried to salvage the situation, hoping against hope.

It didn't help that Weiss became just as hostile. 'Well, if it isn't the Arganets. My, what honor. You actually deigned to speak to me.' Aw, great. It sounded like they knew each other and weren't really the best of buddies. Although Weiss's rapier still pointed at my throat, I was practically gone from her attention, replaced by Circe.

'I won't repeat; release Balthazar.' The purple haired girl commanded frigidly. Her CouP De Grace began to burn.

'Make me, Arganets.' I saw the cylinder rotate on the rapier to show light blue.

This was bad. If they unleashed their attacks, there was going to be a lot of collateral damage, Ruby and myself included. I reached for my barrier grenade and judged where I could toss it to cover both of us.

It never came to that, however.

At that moment, Melanis exited his classroom. His entirely sudden appearance took all of us by surprise, lending him enough time to discover the scene. 'You know, I love watching fights. But not when when my property can be damaged,' he said.

As he had done with Yang and Alex, he walked between the two girls. He carried on, not allowing any of us the time to speak. 'I assume you consider blasting each other to bits and dust perfectly adequate. However, I do not. You would have damaged the corridor and possibly the door. Vandalism's a serious offense.' Right, the students getting injured was perfectly acceptable, I thought.

'There will have to be punishment. Give me your names.' He ordered.

There was a moment of hesitation.

'Weiss Schnee.' Weiss answered, the fight leaving her. She lowered the tip of her rapier, away from my throat.

Seeing her opponent complying with the professor, Circe followed suit. 'Circe Arganets.'

His eyes rose at the names. 'Ah, I see.' He did not share what he saw but instead dismissed the notion with a shrug. 'I will need to speak to your team leaders. Who are they?'

Ruby raised her hand and murmured, 'uhm. I am the leader of Weiss.'

'And I'm the leader of Circe.' I muttered.

Melanis looked at the two of us, then at the other two. His gaze flickered back to me again. 'Ah, it's you. Splendid.' He did not elaborate on our acquaintance further. 'Well, you didn't really do a good job handling a member of your team.' He turned to Ruby. 'The same goes for you, lady. Come to my office, we have to discuss your punishment.' He led the way.

Weiss spoke up. 'Prof – Melanis, they had nothing to do with this. If you're giving punishment, it should be to me.' She looked troubled.

Melanis did not even turn around to retort. 'When a team member makes a mistake, on the leader's head the prices fall.'

Without another word, Ruby and I trailed after him, leaving the other two behind.

-x-x-x-x-

The professor's office was exquisite and spacious. There seemed to be a lot of bizarre equipment. Some of them would probably have fetched a pretty penny in the market.

Melanis let us in hospitably. 'Not bad, eh? Belongs to the old man Havelock. The geezer was a nutter but he knew how to decorate. Come, have a seat.' He gestured to the coach in the middle of the room.

I would have admired the interior design fully if the circumstances were more pleasant. Ruby seemed even more troubled than I, her hands coiling around her skirt. Melanis saw the two of us and barked out a laughter. 'Oh, cheer up, you two. I don't bite.'

Ruby began to apologise for her friend. 'I'm sorry, profe…'

'Hold it. No calling me professor. Melanis will do.'

'I'm sorry about Weiss, Melanis. She's usually a lot nicer. Well, kind of nicer…' Her sentence trailed off weakly.

Melanis nodded. 'And you. Emo boy. What do have to say about your friend?'

I ignored his jibe, since I was in the position of having to defend my friend's case to him. 'Circe isn't the type to just start fights irresponsibly. I doubt she would have actually attacked Weiss.' He nodded at my answer again.

'What are your names?'

'I'm Balthazar Venarius.'

'Ruby Rose.'

'Well, Balthazar and Ruby. I must ask you; do you know what sort of family the two girls have?'

At mention of their families, dots began to connect. So that's why Circe was being so vicious.

'Their family both run a dust company,' I answered. Ruby still seemed a bit lost though.

Melanis smiled. 'Yes. And dust business is a brutal industry. There are very bad blood between them.' She was catching on with his clarification. Seeing her comprehend, he continued. 'I need you two to handle the two girls carefully .Try to diffuse the enmity between the two. If not, at least prevent friction.' We both nodded.

He grinned. 'Good. Now, you two are dismissed. I shall send to your respective scrolls details of your team's punishment. It involves the whole team, so you might wanna inform the other members what's coming.'

I groaned; after his thoughtful advice, I was hoping the punishment would be void. It seemed not the case. 'But Melanis, can't you let us off the hooks once? Technically, there was nothing vandalized.' I tried one last desperate attempt.

Ruby looked at him with imploring eyes, her sentiment similar to mine. 'This won't happen again, I promise.'

'Sorry guys; no deal. I need you guys to do something for me. Can't enforce that without the punishment.' We stared at the professor with wide eyes, stunned by such a flippant abuse of authority. He just shrugged at our reactions. 'Hey, if Ozpin empowers me with authority, you can bet your lien that I'm gonna use it.' He spoke as if it was the most logical thing in the word.

With that, we were dismissed.

-x-x-x-x-

**A/N: Annnnd it's done. Oh god. Fighting scenes are a lot harder that I first gave them credit for. I hope it was good. It's pretty experimental for me, so do try to give comment on how it was.**

**I realise that my chapters increase in word count subsequently. I don't know if that is a good thing or not. If things feel draggy, do share with the class. I need to know.**

**Any other form of reviews are welcome to. I really like that number increase for some reason. I probably ain't the only one.**


	7. Chapter 7: Hometown

**DISCLAIMER: Those that ought to belong to others shall belong to their respective owners. Those that ought to belong to me, if any, shall belong to me.**

**AN: Right. I got a question, so I thought the least I could do was reply.**

**Crazygamer921: Actually, I think it's from the Bible. If I recall correctly, Balthazar's the name of one of the three wise men from the east who was there at Jesus's birth. Of course, that's simply where I heard the name 'Balthazar'. He's not actually based on any figure of the past, reality or fiction.**

**I have a birthday coming! 24****th****!**

**Right. Without further ado, read on.**

-x-x-x-x-

Hometown

It had been a week since I have come to Beacon.

Sitting on my bed, looking at my teammates and contemplating, I came to the conclusion that it had been one hell of a week. I couldn't remember the last time I had so much happen in such a small number of days – actually, I could; but let's not sweat the details – and wondered whether it would always be like this from now on.

Still, it had not been all losses and no gains. I got to unlock my aura. I watched some incredible fights. I was given a room to sleep in and food to feast on. And most importantly of all, I met new friends. While I would rather get pecked by a flight of nevermores to death than to state it aloud, I had no trouble internally admitting how important they were to me already.

It had always been like that; as a thief, friendships had been a scarce commodity. I always valued them greatly when they came.

Lestia was at her desk, working on her battle assessment for Melanis. She really took the Battle Tactics class seriously. Ever since the bout, she had been working on the homework, pretty much forsaking all other assignments – I would need to help her catch up on those later. Her essay was at least eight pages long – which was thrice the length of mine – and did not seem to be yet complete. Not all of the pages were filled with words though. She opted to use pictographs in her explanations and she used them rather well. All in all, she was really fired about the task.

Alex was missing as usual. Ever since the duel, all his time could be summed with one word: training. It seemed that being punched the crap out was a great motivation for him. In fact, his drive to become stronger was so great that he was even cutting down his time with Circe. Even when he was with us he was often distracted, his mind presumably occupied by the thoughts of a certain blond brawler.

Circe was perusing through a book as usual. By a rough estimate, it looked to be about three-thousand pages; I didn't even know where you can find such a book. Her face showed the kind of focus a neurosurgeon would possess during an operation. I was curious what sort of book it was but I treasured my life enough to not bother her for such trivial reasons.

To put it in a nutshell, everyone in the team was doing pretty much their everyday stuff. A typical weekday of Team BLAC.

The problem was: today was Saturday.

My usually nonexistent leadership senses were tingling, announcing that their actions were unacceptable. The mental faculty that was responsible for fending off boredom agreed to with the assessment. Measures had to be taken.

'This is total bullshit.' My opinion rung out in the room, easily overwhelming the sound of a pencil scribbling or the pages flipping. It caught the girls' attentions, diverting them to me.

'What's wrong, Balty?' Lestia asked, her ever-present smile radiant.

'Today's Saturday is what's wrong. Why are you all working like it's any other day?'

'You make it sound as if we are workaholics, Balthazar. It is nowhere as severe.' Circe pointed out.

'Maybe I'm trying to nip the problem in the bud.' I made my voice imposing as possible; I was not whining. Nope. Definitely imposing and leader-like, not whiney at all.

There was a grin on Lestia's face. 'Are you pouting?' She set the pencil on the table.

'I don't pout,' I wiped whatever expression I was sporting, just in case. 'I just think doing schoolwork on weekends goes against the student's code or something. '

'If such is the case, what is your proposition?' Circe closed her book with a heavy _thump_.

Uhm. I haven't thought that far.

The state of my mind must have been obvious because Lestia offered her suggestion. 'How about we go to the city?'

Her idea wasn't that charming. 'City of Vale? Why would you want to go to that boring ass place for? I know the city like the back of my hand,' I dismissed uninterestedly, 'how about you, Circe? Any suggestions?'

'Perhaps we can visit the school's planetarium? I have yet to reconnoiter the facility.' Lestia and I gawked at her. I didn't know which to be amazed about more; the school for having its own planetarium or Circe for knowing such a place existed. She shrugged at our gaping expressions. 'It was simply an opinion.'

Lestia turned on me. 'So let's hear it, smart guy. Where do you wanna go?'

Hmm. Where to go? Actually, I kind of wanted to see the rematch between Alex and Yang. If I put the two of them in the Coliseum, it was a possibility. 'How about we go visit Tea…' A sense of foreboding flooded through me. At an instinctive level, I perceived that my idea was a disastrous one. Why did I feel such a way?

'Balthazar, is there an issue?' Circe asked.

Right, Circe. Team RWBY had Weiss inside. I have pretty much gotten over my fear of the heiress – she really did not seem to recognize me at all – but that did not mean my friend had. Putting the two girls together would be a calamity worthy of the avatar of destruction. And I almost inadvertently perpetrated it.

Keep your head together, boy. Your goal is to live long, not short.

'Balty, you sure you okay?' Lestia became concerned at my extended silence.

'Ah. Yes. I'm just weighing the options. Nothing wrong at all.' I spoke as nonchalantly as possible.

'So what's your suggestion?'

I blurted out the first thing that came to my mind. 'Uhm. How about we go visit the City of Vale? There ought to be things to see, right?' Lestia looked at me with a startled expression. 'You don't like it?'

She shook her head. 'No, I'm fine with it.'

I grinned. 'That's settled then. Let's call Alex and get going.' The feeling of restlessness was rising in me, now that we had a plan going.

It looked like we were paying a visit to my city.

-x-x-x-x-

City of Vale had been my home for all my life. Considering how blotted my life had been, it wasn't wrong to claim that I had many terrible memories within the city. My fallout with Harmony was one of the milder ones; at least no blood was shed. This was the city I have starved in, was betrayed in, have made regretful mistakes in and had been forced to hide in.

Still, this city was mine. Or more accurately, I was this city's. I knew its beauties, uglies, secrets and mysteries more than most. I may at times loathe it but such emotions never lasted. I was bound to it at a fundamental level.

Plus, it wasn't all bads and none goods. Not all districts were shady; some were quite safe even during the night. I have been to all the districts, although the duration of stay for each district differed significantly, and knew where the noteworthy places were.

Take a look at the restaurant we were in for instance. Named "The Fishy Place", it was right at the tip of residential district, overlooking the point where the river merged. The fish and chips here were fabulous. Disregarding the name – the restaurant's name had been forged decades ago by the current owner's great-grandparents – this shop was superb. I was a regular here and had a good relationship with Montier, the owner.

After getting the rest of the team a table, I went to the counter where Montier resided behind. He recognized me and gave me a wave of welcome.

'Well, if it ain't the little buster. Been awhile since you stepped these floors,' said Montier. 'I see ya brought me some customers. Right nice of ya. Are they the regular sort or them who keeps to themselves?' He was asking whether my friends were thieves or not.

'The regular sort. Just here to get them fed with a proper plate of fish and chips each.'

He raised an eyebrow at the nature of my companions – this was the first time I was here with "regular" people – but did not comment. 'Ah. Right grand.' He yelled into the kitchen. 'Four platters of the standard stuff! Best ingredients!' He returned to me. 'Guess that means ya'll be paying in actual lien this time around?'

I nodded, a smile forming at the question. In the past, when I had been short on money, I have worked out an agreement with Montier to steal the ingredients that went into my food and more as a form of a payment. I always made sure to get him enough to cover whatever profit he would have made for not getting my lien so that both of us stayed satisfied.

'By the way, there is some movements in the undermarket. Ya know anything 'bout it?' Montier whispered in a hushed tone, making sure his words did not carry to wrong ears. The undermarket was a euphemism for the criminal underworld in the city.

'What sorts?' I asked, my curiosity piqued.

'Lots of dusts is what. People are asking for dust. A lot o' dust by a lot o' people.'

I snorted. 'People want dust all the time.' It didn't sound like anything out of ordinary to me.

'This one's different, I assure you. I hear there're plans to hit the pier when the containers of dust arrive in few months' time.'

Wow. That was a substantial amount of dust; enough for an army, one might say. 'You know who's the hitter?'

'Just a bunch o' speculations. No one seems sure…' I could tell he knew something; he was just needed some buttering up.

'Come on, Montier. If you don't know who, then half of the undermarket isn't even aware things are happening.'

He grinned at my compliment. 'Ah, ya little bugger. You talk like I'm the Broker himself.' – the Broker was the best information broker in the city. He wasn't essentially a part of the undermarket; he just had so many contacts within it that even though he was not one of us, he was a well known figure.

'You mean you weren't?' I gasped in mock surprise.

He gave me a whack on the arm – which hurt than I found comfortable – and waved away my praise. 'The man planning is the chap Roman. Heard o' him, yeah? The Torchwhisker fellow. Or was it Torchwhip? Stupid ass name either way.'

Roman Torchwick, eh. If he was involved, the lien involved ought to be huge; Harmony did say the guy didn't sweat with small projects, after all. If this project really was that big, maybe there was still room for me to get myself involved. A little cut from here might be worth more than many jobs previous.

Montier's next question shook me out of my train of thought. 'So ya up for grabs yourself, buster? Gotta be a lotta bucks if all you wolves are smelling at its ass.'

That question returned me to my reality. I had no reason to be excited; I wasn't a thief anymore. No matter the money involved, it wouldn't be worth throwing away what I had going on. 'Nope. I don't have time for that. I'm not a marketman anymore.' Marketman was another euphemism.

There was a brief pause as Montier digested my words. He smiled happily. 'Ah. Became a regular sort yourself, I see.' It was rare for a thief to be able to clean his hand off of the industry. It wasn't just a matter of will; usually circumstances bound us tight to our job and seldom let us free. 'Let me welcome you properly then. The four platters on the house.' As if on cue, our order emerged from the kitchen.

Social etiquette demanded that I decline free offers; they may be just saying that to be polite. However, Montier knew that a I was not the sort to turn away what came my way free of charge. If he offered, it was because he wanted me to accept. He handed me the tray of our food and I received it gratefully.

'Thanks, Montier. I will bring more friends when I have time.' I carried the tray off to where my friends sat.

-x-x-x-x-

Deciding where to go next necessitated another discussion.

It began off with Lestia raising the question. She then insisted that she would really like to go to the weapons store. Alex, Circe and I rejected the idea, agreeing that the notion was too mundane.

Circe then brought up the idea of going to the department store. I thought it was a good idea until Alex interjected. He inquired whether there was a bookstore and I affirmed that there was. Once I did, he outright opposed the suggestion, stating that going to a bookstore with Circe was the swiftest path to mastering patience and self-control. Circe conceded to the truth of his words and withdrew her idea. Still, one look at her face foretold terrible fate in store for the red-haired knight.

Alex brought up the idea of heading to the casino. While it would have been fun, I had people who knew me there and not all of them were my friends. Additionally, I did not want my past occupation to be revealed. I had to shut down the idea, making up plausible lies why going there was a poor idea.

When it was my time to suggest a place, I almost said a dust shop. That would have been downright stupid of me, since all dust shops in the city was supplied by the Schnee Dust Company. Wrecking my brains, I recalled that there was a weapons store in the commercial district which dealt with Arganets Dust Manufacturing. I described the shop and all of us concurred to go there. For some reason though, Lestia smacked me hard in the head when I mentioned the weapons store. I do not comprehend why she did such a thing.

-x-x-x-x-

The shop was named "The Best Defence". Circe took a liking to it immediately; she had a soft spot for word plays. The shop was stocked up with all sorts of weapons and accessories; melee weapons, guns, explosives, collapsible weapon parts and the like. There was a section for armor as well. Customizable jobs were also available if one had the lien to pay for it.

Upon entry, Lestia and Alex separated from us, knowing clearly which section of the store they wanted to be in. That left me with Circe, whose CouP De Grace was less likely to be upgraded here. There were some grenades for sale but I had my own supplier.

Circe strolled without any apparent destination. I followed her since I definitely didn't have any. She inspected the weapons that utilized dust. Her eyes caught a certain grenade launcher. She picked up the weapon, dismantled into in two and looked down its barrel and chamber.

'This is an Arganets-specific weapons,' she commented. There was a question in it; Arganets-specific weapons were rare because it only functioned with Arganets dust. It was incapable of utilizing dust from Schnee Company, the most common type of dust.

'Must be one hell of a launcher.' Everyone knew Arganets dust made more destructive weapons.

'It is indeed capable of vast ruination, if one is willing to risk injury to self,' she replied. It was true; while Arganets dust produced bigger craters, the very same traits made them more volatile, less reliable. The main reason Schnee dust was the predominant form of dust in Remnant was because it was the safest to handle, most suitable for everyday needs.

She reassembled the weapon and returned it on the rack. 'I appreciate your kindness, Balthazar.' She thanked me out of the blue.

'Huh? What for?'

'You selected this store for the precise reason that it conducted business with my company.' Oops. It looked like she figured it out. I shrugged, not knowing how to respond at being caught out.

Her eyes met mine and held them in place. 'While I appreciate the gesture, I would prefer if you desisted with such behaviors from now on. My hostility towards the Schnee is not something I compel you to harbor.'

'Maybe I chose this place because I like here?' I answered. It was a futile attempt, I knew, but I had to try; it's like a formality, really.

'You are not a regular customer here, Balthazar. Some of your grenades feature traits of customization but the owner of this establishment exhibits no evidence of knowing you personally. It is glaringly obvious your wares are purchased elsewhere.'

'Alright, you got me,' I acknowledged. 'Mind telling me why you hate them so much? I feel it's more intense than something between two rival companies.'

'As a matter of fact, I do mind.' She retorted curtly.

'I'm sorry. Not my business.'

She softened slightly. 'Apology accepted. I also apologise for my coarse manner.'

'No, it's okay. Everybody is entitled to hold a grudge. As long as you have the right reason for it.'

At my response, she flashed me one of her rare smiles. To be honest, it stunned me momentarily; Circe's smile was the kind that took breaths away. 'You are a good leader.' She walked away, leaving me alone to collect my disorganized thoughts.

-x-x-x-x-

I looked out the window and realised that the sun was setting; the dusk was approaching. We still had time before the last airship left for Beacon but not by much. I alerted my teammates of the time through my scroll and instructed them to gather by the exit. I reached there first since I wasn't really browsing. One by one, our team returned to full strength. We left The Best Defence, leisurely making our way to the port.

'You guys got anything?' I asked, more to fill the gap in the air then anything.

Alex replied, 'a little something for Pillar.' Lestia and I looked at him blankly. He sighed. 'My mace. It's called Pillar.'

'Ohh.'

'The shield is called Foundation, by the way,' he added.

'Are you upgrading Pillar to beat Yang?' Lestia asked.

He grinned, 'I don't need upgrades to defeat her.'

She disagreed, 'I don't know, she pummeled you hard the last time.'

Alex nodded fondly, reminiscing the battle. 'You misunderstand. Upgrading Pillar won't help me win; It's a matter of fighting style. Goldie's experienced fighting against people with weapons but I haven't gone too much against people like her. I have to adjust how I fight her, not what I fight her with.'

Lestia nodded her understanding. 'Then why did you get upgrades for your mace?'

'Ah. It's a little precaution against somebody even stronger.'

'You're planning to fight against teachers?' I asked in surprise.

He shook his head. 'No, I mean among the first years, there's somebody who should be stronger than Yang.'

Circe seemed to understand. 'You noticed she was in the Academy.'

'Hard to not to; she's pretty damn gorgeous.'

'Hey, care to explain to the mere peasants?' Lestia grumbled.

Alex smirked. 'Secret. I need as many advantages as I can get.'

'Aww, you're no fun,' the green haired girl bemoaned.

'Well, I could sell it for a kiss.'

I expected her to protest at his outrageous offer, maybe give him a punch. Instead, she seemed to be contemplating. Woah. She's not serious considering the offer, was she? The idea didn't sit too comfortable with me.

Before she could respond to his business proposal though, a window of a nearby building shattered and a cloaked figure launched through onto the pavement ahead.

'Help! A thief!' came from within the premise.

The hooded figure shot a brief glance back at the shop and then noticed us. He flinched momentarily before dashing off in the opposite direction as fast as his leg could carry him.

'After him!' Lestia yelled.

'What? Why?' This wasn't our business. We were not beholden to chase criminals; that was what the police was paid to do.

My partner looked at me disapprovingly. 'Balthazar, he's a thief! We need to help the poor store keeper. It's our duty as hunters.'

Alex supported her stance. 'The shopkeeper isn't gonna catch him, that's for sure. We should get that filthy thief and teach him a lesson.' I felt a flare of anger at his words but pressed down hard on the emotion. I was not a thief. Not anymore.

'What is your order?' Circe asked.

If I was going to be a huntsman, apprehending thieves like him would soon become my job. Catching him and returning the stolen goods to the rightful owner was the correct thing to do.

'Let's get him.'

Why did the words leave such a bad taste in my mouth?

I suppressed the treacherous thought down; there was a job to do and no room for second guesses. The thief had moved off faster than an average person so I needed to act fast or I would lose him. I analysed my options. A plan of sorts formed. 'Lestia, go after him. For now, keep him in sight. Don't lose him. Constantly report your surroundings through your scroll.'

Lestia saluted, 'aye, aye. Captain.' She blitzed away at incredible speed.

Going through the files in my scroll, I found what I was looking for. I sent it to Alex. 'Alex, I sent you a map of this district. Memorize, then work with Lestia to keep him away from entering the residential district. Don't let him enter there; that's where thieves get rid of their tails.'

Alex took one look at his scroll, muttered, 'done,' and went off in the direction of the other two.

'What of us, Balthazar?' With a task at hand, Circe's severe expression has returned.

'We're gonna be the welcoming committee.'

-x-x-x-x-

'_Lestia, he's trying to lose me by going up that rooftop. Be there and show him it's a bad idea.'_

'_Sure, Alex. Woooah. Did he seriously jump that?'_

'_You can do that with eyes closed.'_

'_Yeah, but he's not me. Well, it was flashy but it ain't gonna do him much. I can still see him.'_

'_Make sure he sees you; that's what's important. Right, he just turned left. He's going for the bridge at the end of the road.'_

'_I see it. I guess you want me to cut him off?'_

'_You are a genius, Lestia. Got it in one.'_

'_Wheeee. Man, this is awesome. I didn't know running on rooftops were this thrilling.'_

'_You there yet? We are inbound any moment.'_

'_Yup, yup. Just reached. I think I can see the two of you over there.'_

'_I think our friend saw you. He just changed his route.'_

'_Righto. Back to the rooftops for me. Oh hey, he just went into that dirty looking purple building over there.'_

'_I saw. There's should be an exit on the roof and a backdoor. Can you watch those two for awhile? I'm going to go around.'_

'_Why not just go through it?'_

'_Well, according to the map, that's an abandoned strip club. I'm not gonna go in there unless you paid me.'_

I knew I should maintain radio silence but couldn't resist, 'so you like being paid in strip clubs, Alex?' Lestia's laughter filled the channel. Circe silently snuck a giggle by my side.

Alex's strained voice came through the channel. _'That's not cool, Balthazar. It was good but not cool.'_

'Maybe it's my subtle way of telling you to keep radio chatter to minimum.'

'_Or maybe it's your subtle way of asking me to bump up our combat training difficulty.'_

I would have retorted if it was not for Lestia's urgent cry. _'Horseshit! He shot something at me.'_

'Are you hurt?'

'_No. He didn't hit me. It's making a lot of smoke though. Hold on.' _A gunshot echoed through the channel. _'Right, I'm out. I see the rascal. He's making for the alley between the… "Little Grocer" and "Arms Are Us."'_

'_There's an underpass to the residential district by that path three blocks down. Go block there. I'll keep chasing him.' _Alex instructed.

'_Okay.' _The comms went dead for now.

Circe took a glimpse into my scroll to check the map. 'You were correct. He is indeed approaching this location.'

'Like I said, I know this city like the back of my hand.' I had to, or else I would have been arrested or killed years ago. 'Looks like our guest's coming; it's time for the welcome ceremony. You fine on your own?'

'I am a huntress, Balthazar.' She answered with a frown.

I shrugged. 'Just asking.'

'I am certain I can manage in your absence.'

'Right. See ya later.' I spoke to Alex. 'Alex. You ready to lure him in?'

'_He's like a dog on a leash, boss; going exactly where we want him.'_

I arrived at the narrow alley my teammates were luring the thief to. There was an entrance to the sewers running under this district around here. The sewer was a good method to lose anyone who was not familiar with its layout. Although the odor made it less than desirable to enter, if one was desperate enough, he would still use it.

Lestia reported, _'He's off. Got scared as hell when he saw me here. Screamed like a little girl. Going your way, Balty.'_

'Can't you at least try to sound professional, Lestia?'

'_For what? I'm not a professional.' _

Patter of footsteps echoed off the walls of the narrow street as my quarry approached. I silenced my scroll and stored it away, ensuring its noise or light would not give my presence away. I kept in the shadows, hoping it would not be necessary for me to step out.

As I predicted, the fugitive stopped at the divide before the sewer. He was judging his situation, weighing whether a venture through the city's refuse was necessary for his escape; like I said, the sewers reeked tremendously. If he did take that path, he probably would need to throw away his clothing and it was a decent bet he did not have many to spare, if any.

He turned away from the sewers, coming my way. It looked like he still believed escape possible without going through the tunnels of muck and filth. My role in this hunt was to dissuade such line of thought. Sigh. I had hoped direct intervention wasn't necessary.

I brandished Fiasco. 'Freeze! Hands where I can fucking see them, twerp. Funny moves and I shoot!' I made myself visible, walking into a tiny spot of light. I kept my tone slightly higher than usual so as to appear nervous. The idea was to make myself look like a person easy to get away from but potentially hazardous to overpower. A nervous, trigger-happy law enforcer fitted that role just right.

He obeyed, slowly raising his hands. Aw, crap. It would be troublesome if he just surrendered now. You might think that would be the most ideal scenario; except I did not have anything to immobilize him short of using my grenades. Hmm. I needed to encourage him to flee so that he proceeded to our trap.

'I'm gonna give you three counts, pal. Take out everything you stole or I brain you, 'kay?' I inserted fake bravado into my voice – the irony of faking a fake bravado was not lost on me – and began counting.

'One.' He put his hands into the folds of his cloak. The swash of the material revealed a tail underneath. A faunus? The tail disappeared as abruptly as it had appeared, to an extent I was unsure whether it had been there at all. Was there really a tail?

Due to my distraction, I forgot to count down. The thief was observant enough to pick up on my state of confusion and did not waste the opportunity. He took out his threatening… slingshot? He pulled back the pouch and loosed a shot.

You know, if you were to look at it in one way, you might say I was lucky. I needed to convincingly be caught off guard, making him believe he escaped to the sewers on his own accord. My genuine surprise at his tail did that job splendidly. However, when you are covered with the revolting smell of a stink bomb, you forget to appreciate such little things in life.

'You little shit!' I bellowed, coughing on the pungent atmosphere. For Remnant's sake, this stuff was nasty; I think there was boarbatusk excrement mixed in the recipe. Well, two can play the same game. I primed a grenade and tossed it at the entrance to the sewers. Upon its detonation, a cloud of gas filled the area. I hoped the bastard was caught in the blast. My tear gas grenade could really ruin somebody's day.

As the gas slowly began spreading to the surroundings, I made myself elsewhere. The stink bomb was bad enough; I did not want to know what the concoction of the two gases would do to my senses. I considered my next course of action. Hmm. The chase was entering its last stage. Originally, I had planned to rejoin Circe and watch the finale. However, that was before I smelt like the love child of swamp monster and decay demon. Not only was I unwilling to reunite with her in such a state, there was a real chance the thief might become aware of my presence at the sewer's exit if he actually was a faunus and had great olfactory capability.

What to do, what to do?

Well, there was a way to get rid of the stench. It's just that I really did not want to do that to myself.

-x-x-x-x-

'He ought to be coming out any time now,' I growled, 'In fact, he's late.' The sewers may be roundabout but they weren't THAT roundabout.

'Regain your calm, Balthazar. Recall your advice to Lestia: be professional,' Circe instructed.

'Touche,' I replied. 'The little prick forced me to use a grenade on myself; I'm done being professional.'

'I confess; I was unaware electrical grenades could be used as a makeshift deodorant.' I could have sworn Circe was suppressing her laughter.

'The energy ionizes the particles and does some scientific voodoo on the smell; it stings like rapier wasps though. I learned this on a little adventure with Har… a friend of mine.' Oops, I almost revealed too much.

'I see.' Aw, crap. She had definitely noticed the mid-switch. Fortunately, the annoying bugger decided to emerge from the sewers at that moment, granting me a perfect chance distract the huntress.

'The shithead is here. Go break a leg; preferably his.' Circe rolled her eyes at my animosity. After that, all trace of emotion was erased from her placid, neutral expression. There was a job to be performed; time for small talk was past. She needed all her concentration for her semblance.

Circe's semblance was, in my opinion, the most versatile out of the four of us. Unlike mine, which could only be used to destroy, hers could be used to set up the environment in her favor. Unlike Alex's which only applied to himself, hers could be used to affect others directly.

She called her semblance "Link". Her semblance allowed her to create a line of connection between two points. A Link could be given physical properties if desired but otherwise did not. During initiation, she had created a Link between herself and Alex, allowing them to be aware of each other's whereabouts upon landing without difficulty. They could also become makeshift rope if required. Her Links were how we got past the demolished bridge ruin at the bottom of the cliff.

Her Links had their own downsides, of course. It was rather easy to shatter a Link; it was flimsy on its own, just like a string. The farther the distance between the two points, harder it was for her to maintain the Link. More Links she kept online at one instance, less stable they were, prone to snapping at slightest lapse in her concentration. All in all, they were not all that useful in a quick-paced fight. Just as malfunction had its own conditions, Link came with its own set of rules.

With enough time to prepare, however, Circe could lay out enough Links to form an impenetrable net over an area – not dissimilar to a spider's web. The exit of the sewer was rather enclosed and walled in by tall buildings. It was the perfect place for a snare.

The Links were currently invisible and intangible; their characteristics morphed depending on Circe's will. Once the thief entered amidst the thick of it, she would solidify them and capture him. I could see her on the ground from my vantage point, waiting for the thief to walk in.

Of course, if everything went according to plan, things would be too easy, wouldn't it? Fortune must have been bored, for she chose to butt into my affairs again. The thief stopped just short of the net as if somehow he sensed it and produced a coiled rope with a grapple hook attached from the folds of his cloak.

An understanding dawned on me. So it had not been a tail; it had been the rope wrapped around his stomach. He wasn't a faunus, after all. In fact, now that I thought about it, it should have been obvious. Firstly, I had been able to sneak upon him under the cover of darkness. A faunus wouldn't have been caught off like that unless he was blind. Another clue should have been the stink bomb. No faunus used a such weapon, not with their superior sense of smell.

While discovery about the enemy was good and fulfilling, the addition of the rope to the current equation was not. With a rope, he could just climb out of the harm's way by scaling up the nearest building. This new development forced Circe's hand.

She shot a couple more Links and dragged his arm down. The guy dropped the grapple hook in surprise. He struggled and tried to break free. It was futile, however; Circe continuously reinforced the Links so that they won't break. Slowly, the Link chain pulled its prey towards the web, which was now tangible.

When I said slowly, I meant extremely slowly. It seemed the mental upkeep of maintaining all these Links – there was at least half a thousand of them from what I could see – was pushing Circe to her limits. Quite literally, anything could shatter her concentration at this point. I frowned. I wanted to tell her to let go of about half of them – five hundred for just one thief felt like overkill – but I could not for the fear of breaking her focus. All I could do was pray that everything went according to plan.

Well, if I say something like that, you know it isn't going to.

The thief seemed to have come to terms that he wasn't going to force his freedom. He switched tactics. He took out his slingshot and let loose a round at Circe's feet. Acting on instinct, I cover my ears and shut my eyes. It paid off; the pellet exploded with a giant _bang_ and presumably a flash of light.

How did I know he was using that? Well, if I was caught in a giant web of rope put together by someone's will, I would have gone for its creator as well. I would need something that had instant effect of disabling my opponent, although preferably non-lethal. The optimal candidate for such an effect was a stun grenade.

While his bomb was nowhere as strong as the ones I carried, to Circe it was more than enough. She collapsed with a scream; all her Links banished immediately. Aw, shit. I needed to get there. I dashed towards the two, meanwhile equipping my shades and miniature gas mask. I did not have the luxury of being knocked out at this moment.

He was approaching her. Maybe he was just checking to see if she was alright, maybe he wasn't. I wasn't going to take any chances. I took out Fiasco and replaced its blanks with a live round. 'Stay away from the girl, you bastard,' I warned, my voice quite distorted by the mask. Fiasco was aimed at his chest.

He fell back at the sight of me. He raised his arms. I wondered whether he recognized me; it didn't matter though.

'Drop the slingshot and kick it to the side.' He hesitated momentarily but complied eventually.

Now that I had him, I noticed just how short the thief was. I am not tall myself but I was at least a head taller than him. He must be just a kid. Well, that didn't mean I was going to let my guard down.

I needed to make sure he had no more concealed weapons. 'Go to the wall and place your hands. Legs shoulder length apart.' If you want to pat somebody down, make sure you are not in their sight. It was less risky that way. I removed the cloak with one hand, the other pointing Fiasco to his back. Then I had my shock of the day.

Turns out that the thief was a girl.

Don't get me wrong; it's not like upon discovery of her gender, I began to apologize for all the trouble I put her through or anything. I still trained my gun on her and watched for any sudden movements; I knew better than to assume girls were less dangerous than guys. Still, the notion of searching her down was now awfully discomfiting, especially so since she was a couple years younger than me.

Serendipitously, she kept most of her gears in the cloak – a stupid decision from a professional point of view, since it meant losing her cloak results in loss of many of her gears, but I wasn't going to complain. Without a word, I rummaged its pockets. A pair of makeshift daggers, a box full of pellets for her slingshot, a worn down key and a few packets of sandwiches. The sandwich packs looked crumbled but relatively new; they must be the stolen merchandise.

Food. She was stealing food. Only the most desperate stole right from the shops instead of robbing the warehouses. I began noticing how frail she looked, how torn her clothes were. She had wrappings for her feet, not being able to afford any footwear. Her back was caked with a thin layer of dirt, meaning she slept on the ground instead of having a shelter to her name.

The sight of her stirred memories from the past.

I can't do this.

Getting her arrested wouldn't improve her situation; it would just get her marked by the police, making it harder for her to get by. I had to let her go.

But was simply letting her go the best solution? She might get scot-free today but her luck wouldn't last forever. I wanted to help her, not extend her misery. I wanted to be the person I had always wished for during my own street urchin days: a person to rescue me from the starvation and terror.

The question was how? I was a thief no longer. I was not part of the undermarket anymore. She was still within its grasp. I was just a student in the Beacon Academy, busy getting through my own affairs. How do I save her? I needed to be realistic.

A thought clicked.

I put the cloak back on her. She yelped at my sudden touch but upon realizing what I was doing, did not resist. I briefly checked on Circe, found her still unconscious – I needed to examine her soon. Having no danger of being overheard, I addressed my captive. 'Turn around. We're gonna have a little chat.' She obeyed, her eyes full of suspicion.

'Originally, I was going to hand you over to the police but you seem quite capable. It would be a shame to let you rot in prison.' Her eyes widened, filling with hope at my words.

'I will let you go on one condition.' Suspicion returned in full force.

'I need you to contact a person called Harmony.' She perked up at that; she had heard of her.

'Go to The Fishy Place in the residential district, talk to the owner there. Tell him you have a message for Harmony. Stick around the area for a couple of days and she will contact you.' I took out my memento ring of twisted wires from my pocket and tossed it to her.

'When she does, give her this and tell her "Breaker got replaced." She knows what I'm talking about.' She nodded but it was plain she still did not trust me. I didn't blame her; I wouldn't have trusted me if I was in her place.

I gritted my teeth. I needed to ensure she followed my instruction. If I let her go now, there was a good chance she would just count her blessings and not adhere to our bargain.

I hardened my resolve.

I stepped close to her, held her by her neck and pushed her against the wall. 'Listen here, you shit. When I ask you a question, you reply with "yes, sir". Do I make myself crystal?'

I saw the fear settle in her eyes and hated myself for it. 'Ye… yes, sir,' she whimpered.

'What do you do once I let you go?'

'De… deliver your message, sir.'

'At where?'

'The Fishy Place, sir. In the residential district.' She sniffed back her tears.

Oh god, I couldn't keep this up much longer. 'Go. I expect Harmony's reply in two weeks. If it doesn't arrive, I'm coming for you. I never forget a face.' I snarled and released her. She dropped to the floor, her knees weak.

Realising that she was dismissed, she rushed to gather her equipment and then depart, eager to get away. I kept my grim expression until she was out of sight. When Harmony received my message, she would figure out my intention. In the very least, she would teach the girl our trade so that she can support herself better. My hope was that my ex-partner would take her in, sponsoring her until she can be autonomous.

My mouth tasted awfully bitter. Was all that worth it? If it saved the girl from a life in the streets or brothels, it would be. Still, I felt despicable. It was as if being in this city was bringing out the old me; the worse side of me.

I brought my mind to my team. Circe needed to be attended to and Lestia and Alex needed to be contacted. Circe first. I shook her gently. 'Circe. Wake up.' Weakly, she stirred with a groan. It looked like she wasn't too badly affected. Then she threw up to the ground by her side. Yikes.

-x-x-x-x-

'So after all that, we lost him?' Alex asked incredulously.

'Yes, Alex. I apologise for my blunder,' Circe replied. She was being carried by Alex, being too disoriented to walk. She was dozing off in his arms, clearly exhausted.

'At least it was a blast. We should do this more often.' Lestia grinned delightedly.

'We are never doing this again.' I rebutted firmly.

'Don't be such a wet blanket, Balty,' said Lestia.

'No, I'm serious. The next time we see a thief on our way back to…' I ceased mid-sentence.

'Boss? Something wrong?' Alex inquired.

'For Remnant's sake, I completely forgot!' I yelled.

'What's the matter?' The three of them looked at me.

'We freaking missed the last ride to Beacon! We're stuck here till tomorrow!' I lamented.

And that's how the Team BLAC's first outing concluded itself.

-x-x-x-x-

**AN: This chapter was longer than any of the previous chpts (I guess I'm still keeping that particular trend) and that's after a drastic cut down of content. I realised after the previous chpt that it's much better to give proper, high quality content instead of giving a lot of it.**

**Upon this elucidating realization, I decided that revisions of previous chpts would be in order. I don't know when, mind you. I don't know when I have free time. But I will do it, for humanity, if nothing else.**

**On a side note, I am learning that I need a lot of character ideas. You can't just have a select few and assume that they are all you need till the end of story. If you happen to have any you would like to share, please do. Assist me in this time of crisis.**

**If you have anything to say, do say. I like communication.**

**Finally, I hope you enjoyed this chpt. Ciao.**


	8. Chapter 8: The Calm Before

**DISCLAIMER: Those that ought to belong to others shall belong to their respective owners. Those that ought to belong to me, if any, shall belong to me.**

**A/N: I am so bloody late.**

**And I have nothing but apologies to offer but this sin. Really, I'm sorry. A lot of stuff kinda happened, some of which was my consideration regarding this story. I still haven't finalized everything and was thinking thru what to do as I continued. I'm still thinking.**

**Anyway, here you go.**

-x-x-x-x-

The Calm Before

Melanis strolled around the podium, lecturing with the confidence of man in his expertise. He was a man on a mission, delivering us the knowledge that will most probably save our lives one day. His eyes were bright with zeal, his movements filled with purpose. His words were crisp and commanding, gripping the attention of his pupils.

'The term "dustcasting" was coined a few decades back by a huntsman of the name Jason Arganets. Yes, he's part of the Arganets family line that founded the Arganets Dust Manufacturing; he's one of the reasons why ADM's so well-versed in combat purpose dust manufacture.'

'Now, as you all well know, dusts have always been used in battles; for hundreds, if not thousands of years. There's even a legend about how it saved the human race from the Grimm and yada, yada, yada. So why was the term "dustcasting" only coined a few decades back? That's because he was the first one mad enough to purely use dust in a fight.'

'For ages, dust has been the supporting material. They augmented our physical capabilities. They made our weapons more destructive. They made our bullets fly. While they were always part of our weaponries, they were never the primary form of damage until Jason started using them so. When his style first made an introduction into the hunters' world, it was deemed foolish and even suicidal.'

He chuckled. 'Well, I assure you, dustcasting is definitely suicidal to fools. You see, while dustcasters are capable of unleashing great feats of devastation, they're also prone to injuring themselves, sometimes fatally, from the backlash if they're not prudent. The amount of concentration needed to dustcast is at a level that is considered impossible to acquire through training. Either you're born with it or you aren't.'

'Even if you're born with it, it's still a hit or miss. You can still mess up with disastrous results. In today's world, a dustcaster of modicum skill is always written off as worse than other form of fighters of equal level. However, a master dustcaster is considered to be more valuable than a swordsman or a gunslinger of same caliber...' He continued on, his words accompanied by the furious scribbling of notes by the students.

My scroll vibrated, distracting me from Melanis. I snuck a quick peek at device, curious what notification I've gotten.

There was a text message: **You have received 1 message from Exp. **

Well, that got my attention. It was from Harmony.

It had been several weeks since I have reopened communications with Harmony. I suppose this was inevitable; I did send an apprentice into her care after all. I wouldn't say our relationship was patched up yet. She knew her crime, and I was yet willing to forgive. However, even though I say all this, it was still nice to chat with her now and then. At least I could speak in thief's tongue and be understood.

However, our topics of conversation were rather limited. She did not ask me how I was doing in the Beacon Academy, and I knew better than to pose questions about her current life in the undermarket. We both knew doing so only led to an argument down the road. This caused us to centre our communication on one safe topic: Rebecca, the street kid I rescued.

I have not seen her ever since that day in Vale. Harmony has been giving me a weekly update of Rebecca. She was doing well, apparently taking a liking to my ex-partner at first sight. She was still unaware that I had set the events for her to be taken under Harmony's wings; she probably assumed herself damn lucky. Since then, Harmony had been giving her proper training to be a thief.

I skimmed through the latest report. Mmhmm. According to this one, I was an embarrassment to the thief society when compared with Rebecca. Let's see, it said here that if I had a fraction of skill that she did, I would have reduced the amount of my screw-ups by at least half throughout my career.

After the perusal of my ex-partner's deep and insightful assessment regarding the degree of failure in my life, I reflected with utmost seriousness on the matter. Then I told her to go and be devoured by an Ursa.

Totally professional.

Just as I hit the send button, Lestia nudged my side. 'So who's Exp?,' she whispered.

I whipped the scroll back into my pocket. 'Ex-partner: your predecessor.'

'So she was your previous source of joy in your life?'

I snorted. 'You know, you weren't this delusional when we first met.'

'We've known each other for weeks now. Your bad habits had to rub off on me eventually.'

'And what makes you think it's a girl?'

'You only smile that way to girls you find pretty.'

'When was I smiling?'

'The whole time you were reading the message. Like a little boy getting a message from a teacher he has a crush on.'

'So lippy,' I grunted. 'What's making you anxious?' She was only this way when nervous about an issue.

'I'm not anxious,' she denied weakly. She was still a terrible liar; not all my habits had rubbed off on her. I gave her a long look, dismantling her defence. 'Oh, fine. I'm wondering whether Melanis will finally call me for a duel or not.

'Wondering? More like despairing.' Neither of us has been made to duel yet. And while I was feeling fortuitous about the situation, it was driving my partner – whose passion for combat was unhealthily fierce – crazy.

'Nitpick the words, won't you, Balty. Fine. Despairing,' she rolled her eyes – looked like my habits weren't the only habits Lestia was picking up, 'I wish I could fight today. Do you think today's the day?'

'You can always hope.' I said diplomatically.

She glared at me. 'You're terrible at reassuring people.'

I shrugged, 'hey, I'm not perfect.'

A wad of paper struck me in the temple. I shirked it off and retaliated with a rubber band at her cheeky face. She dodged and shot another pellet back, scoring a second point off my head. Right. This meant war. I pulled forth my paper clip launcher and was about to let it rip.

'As soon as those two stop having a tiff in the bloody classroom, we'll begin the duel session,' said Melanis, his voice crisp, amused and distinctly broadcasted. We found the eyes of the whole room focused on us. Heat rose to my face, smothering me with embarrassment. Literally everyone was looking. At the edge of my vision, I could see Alex snickering and Circe frowning from the seats on the other side.

Lestia, of course, was utterly unfazed. She smiled at the mention of a duel and ushered at the instructor to begin, oblivious to the fact that he was rebuking our behavior. Melanis saw the gesture and gave a tiny smirk her way before proceeding with the commencement of the duel.

'Today's duel shall be between… Blake Belladonna and Circe Arganets.' He shot Lestia a wink.

The disappointment Lestia exuded was gargantuan.

-x-x-x-x-

CouP De Grace burned with all its might, as if delighted to be going all out after so long. A jet of flames sprayed from it, sweeping its fiery arc in front of Circe, threatening to consume all in its path. I could feel the heat from my seat.

Blake leapt out of the way, jumping off a shadow clone. As the fire swept by below her, she fired off a few rounds with Gambol Shroud, more to interrupt Circe's flamethrowing than to injure her. Circe's flames ceased as she conjured a wave of frost, stopping the bullets in their tracks.

Blake sprinted towards her opponent, her weapon once more in katana form. This was one of the rare lulls in Circe's offensive and she planned to make the most of it. The moment the dustcaster was within her range, she executed a flurry of strikes. The blade danced in a whirlwind, striking aura and sometimes even nicking flesh. Circe faltered slightly before the assault. A quick check on my scroll informed me she was on last half of her aura reserve, although that was not saying much, since her aura cap was lower than average person's to begin with.

The melee frayed her patience. A brief hum from CouP De Grace was all the warning Blake had before an orb of blaze blossomed around my teammate. However, it must have been enough because Blake nimbly backpedalled in time and escaped the harm.

What she did not expect was a fork of lightning to shoot out of the orb before its dissipation. It struck the swordswoman solidly, flinging her all the way to the edge of the dueling area. Smoke trailed in her wake.

Links began to engulf the golden-eyed girl, seeking to chain her. I could see the logic behind the decision. Blake was a huntress whose strengths were at being nimble and agile. If you took those away, your victory was assured.

However, links were too slow. The moment one of them started to bind her, Blake figured out what was going on and was on guard. She hacked at them as they came, snapping them easily. All they were managing was to slow her down. While being able to impede the enemy's movement could have been a huge advantage in combat, Circe's need to concentrate solely on the links made her unable to capitalize on the said advantage. All things considering, I felt that her links were robbing her of the lead she managed to gather.

Apparently she came to the same conclusion, for the links vanished as one. She followed up their disappearance with a wave of fire that surged towards the ribbon-wearing huntress. Blake was distracted by the disappearance of links that she took too long to notice the approaching fire wave. She wasn't going to be able to evade it.

She improvised. She created a shadow clone and ducked behind it, letting the poor clone tank the flames. Well, better it than her, I guess. Blake got a few singes around the edges for the trouble but other than that, she was alright.

She was well enough to launch a counterattack, at any rate. As she dashed towards the dustcaster, Gambol Shroud morphed once more, the katana blade bending backwards on top of the gun's barrel. She let it fly towards Circe in its sickle form, forcing the dustcaster to dodge.

The danger was not past. Blake yanked at the ribbon attached to her weapon. A gunshot rang and altered the sickle's trajectory, arcing it sharply back towards the purple-haired girl. She barely managed to evade that one in time. Now, the flow of battle had shifted into Blake's hand. Blake kept up the torrent of attacks, utilizing her weapon's kusarigama form to its fullest.

Despite Blake being in the opposing side, I admired her change in tactics. Using Gambol Shroud in its kusarigama form was brilliant. The sickle, unlike the bullets, posed a considerable threat to Circe's relatively weak defence. Using her weapon in such a manner also extended her reach considerably

Steadily, the swordswoman advanced towards the dustcaster. The sickle whistled through the air, occasionally accompanied by gunfire. Circe tried to retaliate but her shots were hasty and easily avoided. Her opponent methodically drove her back. I could see Blake was determined not to slip up, refusing to relinquish the dominance now that the battle was finally in her favor. The centre of the arena, which had been Circe's for the majority of the fight, now belonged to her.

There are people who grow so comfortable with their fighting style that no matter the situation, they fail to break out of it. I have seen many such people, back in my thieving days and in the several weeks I have now been in Beacon. In my experience, their inflexibility usually brought about their downfall. To put it simply, it was somewhat like scissor-paper-stone. No matter how much you like stone, to only use that means you are bound to lose to paper.

Of course, an actual combat is nothing like the game; if your stone is strong enough, it can beat someone's paper.

However, if the two combatants are of more or less equal in combat prowess, the decision on how to fight was ultimately the deciding factor between a win and a loss. Blake had changed her hand to offset Circe's, so now Circe had to do the same or forfeit the match. Circe, while proud, was neither stupid nor stubborn. She knew when she needed to adopt.

CouP De Grace glowed with yellow. Hmm, that can't be right; wasn't that one speed? Circe proved me right, her agility multiplying significantly as she avoided the incoming swing with swift ease.

Her choice baffled me. While yellow dust allowed her easy evasion, it did not allow her to cast any other dust. No matter how I looked at it, yellow dust had very little use for her. Increased speed did not benefit Circe as much as it did Alex, especially if she had to sacrifice using other dusts to obtain it. If they were fighting in an open field, maybe she could have used it to run out of Gambol Shroud's range. However, they were on a classroom podium; such an option was not available.

Circe began to run about the arena, desperately avoiding the kusarigama that pursued her with malice. Blake did not relent in her attacks; the steady of stream of gunshots echoing throughout the room proved testament of that. I began to worry. If this continued, Circe was bound to tire eventually – she was physically the weakest in the team – and lose.

What was going on? Circe wouldn't do something like this, pointlessly running around the podium just to delay the inevitable. She wasn't that sort of the person. I was missing something. Come on, Balthazar, think. If you were in her situation, what would you do?

A thought clicked. Could she be…?

Once more, Circe proved me correct.

Abruptly, the chase came to a stop. And I refer to both parties of the chase; both Circe and Gambol Shroud. Circe stood with elegant ease befitting a royalty, gracefully examining at leisure her chaser of the last five minutes. It was completely motionless, hanging in the air as if frozen in time. Bewildered murmurs began to rise all around the classroom at the display. Blake's expression conveyed her disbelief and confusion.

Circe was currently extremely satisfied. Well, she looked satisfied to me. I doubted anyone other than the Team BLAC members would have recognized this fact; her face did still look as indifferent as ever. You had to look at her stance to figure her out; whether her muscles were tense, her guard was up and her breathing was rushed and excited. Right now, I can assure you she was feeling immensely pleased.

In an act of subtle flourish, she revealed her links. All of them. A least a hundred crisscrossed the arena. Gambol Shroud was cocooned tightly, a tangle of links surrounding the weapon. There was no way it could move with all that binding it down. Blake inspected the sight before her, analyzing what had happened. It wasn't long before understanding flooded her; a slight smile formed as she marveled at the ingenuity of it.

Circe's run about the arena had been the means of setting the links. Gambol Shroud in kusarigama form would pass through a lot of links in its travel. All Circe had to do was to make links solidify once enough had stuck on the weapon. Then it was a simple matter to immobilize it in place. Circe had used Blake's upper hand against her.

'I yield,' said Blake.

Upon the words, all links vanished. Gambol Shroud dropped to the ground before being recalled by its owner.

A round of applause was given, as it always was whenever a duel came to a conclusion. The discussions began as usual, rapidly replacing the silence that had been in place during the commencement of the duel. I saw Melanis getting up from his seat to approach the two combatants.

'Hell of a fight. Loved it.' He complimented the two and handed the exhausted girls a bottle of water each. He then addressed the room in large with the lesson points.

'There are a few points to take note from this fight between Blake and Circe.' Unlike the other professors, Melanis referred to all his students by first name. At first I thought it was his way of trying to build a rapport between himself and students. Now I knew it was because he simply didn't care about formalities.

'If I recall correctly, this is the second time we've seen Blake fight and I say it was a lot better than when she fought against Raynee. Just like Raynee, Circe is a dustcaster. Blake made sure she used what she learned about dustcasters in this match.'

'So what're the points to remember against dustcasters? Well, generally, their defence is weak; it's awfully hard to use something that's explosive as a mean to defend yourself. Even if you can avoid harm to self, it's intensely tiring to keep up. Another thing to remember is to never let them fight at their pace. Dustcasters who control the pace of battle wins the battle, most of the time. Shatter their focus and you shatter their firepower. As you just saw, Blake knew these two and kept on attacking at close range as to deny Circe' strong points. If so, then why did she lose?' He asked.

'She assumed that Circe would be unable to mount a counterattack without dustcasting.' I recognized the confident voice as Pyrrha's, the girl I first met during the shenanigan at the Coliseum. In the last few weeks, I have learned that she was very knowledgeable with regards to combat, often being able to answer the questions posed by the combat tactics professor.

'Correct,' Melanis nodded, 'she fell victim to her assumption that Circe can't fight back without using dust. As you all saw, that was a critical flaw, costing her the match.'

His topic of discussion was now Circe. 'So then, what of Circe? Has this been an easy victory for her? I don't know if you guys can notice but she's breathing heavily even now, whereas Blake is fine as fruit. She was taking an awful risk when she did that trick. Running with yellow dust boost takes a lot of stamina; stamina she might not have had. If she lost her focus, her semblance would have failed and she would have given Blake the victory on the platter.'

'While I usually frown on drastic – and she was drastic, no mistake – I compliment her decision. Her wild, drastic response allowed her to revoke Blake's strong points; it granted her the control of the stage. Why is this important? Because against a speedy opponent, that is one of the best things you can do.'

'I cannot stress this enough. All of you are awfully incapable at dealing with fast opponents. Yeah, I'm looking at you, Vergil; don't look so indignant. The reason why is because you only focus on where the enemy is. However, by the time you strike where they are, they have moved on, rendering your attack useless.'

'Here's a tip: focus on controlling where they can be. No matter how fast they are, they have to be somewhere, right? If you were to possess control over the battlefield, no matter where they are in it, they are in your grasp.'

He frowned. 'Hmm. The explanation doesn't seem clear enough. Let me give you an example. There are a lot of fast people in this class; Ruby, for example. If I was an evil villain who wanted to her dead for sure, what will I do? Knowing how fast she is, I wouldn't sneak upon her with a high powered rifle and snipe her like in the movies. No, I'll rather just blow up the whole classroom. Why? Because no matter how fast she is, if I destroy everywhere she can be, I know I got her. Do I care where she current is? No, because no matter she's at, she will be within the area of effect of the explosion.'

He nodded with satisfaction. 'Now for your homework. As usual, you're to write a battle assessment. Same things; their strong points, their weak points and their mistakes. I want your battle plan against one of them too. Let's see if this time one of you does better than Ms Glass.' Lestia smiled triumphantly besides me at the praise.

'Ah, before I forget. There'll be a surprise the next lesson. It's nothing life-threatening, for the most part, but I would appreciate it if you all contacted your lawyers or guardians and ensure that your insurances are well in place. Right all. Dismissed.' There was a mixed response from the students at his comment. Melanis's surprises could be rather hazardous to health at times. Some students loved that stuff. Others were saner and less suicidal.

'Ah, also. I'm sorry I used you in the example, Ruby. Hope you weren't offended,' he added before turning his attention back to the two duelists of the day.

As usual, the two of them would have to stay behind to repair the considerable damage done to the class. I sometimes wondered why the duelists did not try to preserve the classroom when they knew they would have to fix it later. Then I realised that when my turn to fight on that stage ever arrived, I wouldn't hold back using my grenades either. Everyone fought with their all in the duels.

I packed my stuff and left the room, wondering what to do with the spare time I had for the rest of the day.

-x-x-x-x-

I trudged my way to the dorm room, not at all feeling refreshed despite the shower.

Sometimes girls just vexed the crap out of me. Seriously, why in the Remnant would you step out of your shower cubicle clad in towel if you know full well the bloody washroom is unisex? And she had the gall to somehow claim it was my fault.

To make matters even more frustrating, when I just walked past pretending not to notice, she got even madder. Why? What do you want me to do? Strike up a conversation asking about the weather? Make a comment about your poor choice in attire?

Admittedly, the surprise was of the pleasant sort, but I refuse to allow the issue to be of my wrongdoing just because of that. A thief taking responsibility for things not of his doing was a thief who gets to tour the prison cells. The girl's mad if she thinks she can pin the blame on me.

I briefly wondered who the hell she was, and how I would behave if we ever met. I got uncomfortable with the idea; I fervently hoped this did not happen. I would have prayed to Fortune if it wasn't for the fact that doing so was more likely to instigate the situation than to prevent it. I was pretty sure Fortune got some extra kick making me miserable.

I shoved open the room's door, all wired up to tell Lestia about this latest incident. She was quite a gossip, deeply in love with hearing all sorts of happenings.

However, one look into the room revealed a rather mopey and gloomy Lestia; a concept I had previously considered inconceivable. I kid you not; I literally forgot about the whole washroom fiasco, shapely body in towel and all. It was that shocking.

My brain was astonished to such a degree that the only thing it was able to manage was, 'is it that time of the month?'

Lestia barely even glanced up, 'what are you talking about?'

I seized control of the lobes in my cranium before they could hatch even dumber phrases. 'What I meant was; what's wrong?'

'Maybe I'm a failure in life.'

'Whoa, whoa, whoa. Why would you say that?'

'Why else wouldn't Melanis not let me battle?'

My eye twitched. 'Wait. You're like this because you didn't get to duel in the freaking class?' This issue was getting way out of hand.

'Don't mock me. I'm feeling so depressed about it,' she retorted.

Do you know what was the worst part? She actually looked as if she meant it. Well, this could not be permitted to do continue. Sad Lestia was just far too weird. I had to get rid of this anomaly somehow.

It looked like I had a mission.

-x-x-x-x-

'Balty, where're we going? This is starting to be a bit suspicious, even for you.'

'What's that supposed to mean? I'm like the most trustworthy guy around.'

'Right, and I'm the queen of Vale.' She tagged behind nonetheless.

'Pleased to make your acquaintance, Your Majesty.' I looked around, trying to find the door I was looking for. Please, don't tell me I was lost; that would be embarrassing. Ah, over there. Yes, it's this one. I pushed it open and did not release the nervous sigh I was not holding at the familiar staircase. Why would I have been nervous? I knew the stairs were here all along. 'Here it is. What I'm going to show you is at the top of this staircase.' We began to ascend.

'That's the roof up there.'

'Yup. You'll love it.'

'Uhm. Balty? I know I said I was depressed but…it's not that bad.' She muttered with a frown.

It took me a moment to understand what she meant. 'Wait, no! No, no, no. That's not why I brought you up here,' we have arrived at the door that opened up to the roof. 'Come on, you will love it. Trust me.' I gestured at the door for her to push open.

'Uhm… okay, if you say so,' She looked torn between to trust and to doubt. Aw, come on. Just how bad an image did she have of me if she can't even go to rooftop with me? I gave an impatient wave of a hand, motioning at her to hurry. She complied, although it was filled with hesitation. I laid her hand on the door and gave her a little shove to indicate that she should open. Gently, ever so slowly, she did.

The grand view of the Coliseum struck her.

As did a flying figure of a man.

What in the freaking hell. I couldn't believe my eyes. One moment she was right in front of me, the next moment she and the unknown guy had soared right past me and tumbled down the stairs. My head snapped towards the crash site, driven by my worry for her.

'Lestia, you okay?' I ran down to her and pried the guy off her before helping her to her feet. She wobbled a little upon standing but there seemed to be no external injury; a little disorientation but otherwise fine. After all, it was just a small tumble down the stairs; she should be completely fine.

Wait, did I just say "a small tumble down the stairs"? Oh god, the Beacon madness was strong.

Then Lestia groaned with a shake of her head and my wariness of the madness disappeared, replaced with more important issues. 'Do you need to go to the infirmary?'

She blindly waved her hand to indicate such a journey wouldn't be necessary. Taking a moment to steady herself, she managed to utter, 'wow. Is this what you wanted to show me?'

I replied quickly, aghast. 'No! No, no. I swear on my last lien I didn't have anything to do with that guy. I don't even know him.'

"That guy" in question was currently still sprawled on ground, too unstable to get up. Now that I had time to observe him, his appearance came to my attention. The first thing you would notice about him was his clothes. It was quite green and foreign. I remember seeing some tourists in the city with similar dress code but did not know from where it originated – geography wasn't really my strong point, unless we were talking about Vale topography. He had a streak of magenta in his mostly black hair. I assumed it was dyed until I saw his eyes which was magenta as well. Well, that wasn't a color you saw every day.

Even at a quick glance, I could see he fared worse from this ordeal than Lestia. Apparently she thought the same thing because she motioned to me to go and assist him. 'Hey, you alright?'I offered him my hand and pulled him to his feet as he took it.

Before he could reply, however, an animated yell came from behind. 'RENNNNNNNN!' Sensing imminent danger, I ducked and rolled, distancing myself from the other huntsman as swiftly as possible. My instinct served me well; a second later, another airborne blur crashed into the poor guy, knocking him to the ground once more.

Lestia eyed the scene. 'That's how I flew?'

'Yours was worse; there was a stairs involved.'

The human cannonball this time was a short, orange-haired girl with turquoise eyes. One look at her informed me she was a bundle of boundless energy. Completely unharmed from the flight, she bounced back up to her feet as if such an ordeal was an everyday thing. She was orbiting around the fallen boy like a satellite, bombarding him with attention and questions.

She asked the questions in a rapid fashion, inquiring about his condition – despite the fact that she's the reason he got knocked down the second time. Although her worry for the boy was plain, I couldn't help but feel that her fretting was harming him more than it was helping.

Sure enough, the guy weakly protested, 'Nora. Please be quiet for a moment.'

'What's the matter? Did you hear something? Is it an enemy?' Her hand went to the device on her back that looked suspiciously like a grenade launcher. I stepped back a little.

A calm and collected voice opined behind us. 'I think Ren simply wishes for peace of silence, Nora.' Lestia and I turned around as one. Before us was a huntress: Pyrrha Nikos.

For reasons unknown, I found myself momentarily off-kilter at her presence. 'Pyrrha. How… I mean… uhm… Hello?' I finished lamely. Lestia gave me a curious look at my familiarity with the green-eyed huntress.

'Hello, Balthazar. It's been awhile since we met outside the classroom.' She walked past us, towards the other two and gently helped the fallen huntsman to his feet. 'Are you well?' She asked; to which he nodded his affirmation. A quick glance over later, she seemed satisfied to his state of being. Like I said; a small tumble down the stairs was nothing to worry about.

Lestia nudged me from side. 'Well? Aren't you going to introduce me to the gorgeous redhead? You two seem to be buddies already.'

'Don't rush me, Lestia. I was about to do that. This is Pyrrha Nikos. You might have heard her during the classrooms; she knows a thing or two about fighting.' Lestia's eyes shone. 'She and I met a few weeks back when I was clearing the Coliseum.'

'Coliseum? What's that?'

'The thing I was about to show you when that boy wonder fell on top of you.'

The small girl – I think they called her Nora just now – interjected, 'his name's Ren. By the way, he's a man wonder, a not boy wonder.' She said that with a straight face. I found that hilarious, letting out laughter. I wasn't the only one; Lestia and Pyrrha joined in.

Ren groaned again. 'Thank you for that, Nora. Please don't stand up for me again.'

'Nice to meet you both.' I greeted, 'I'm Balthazar. Leader of Team BLAC.'

'Lestia here. Looking forward to duel all of you.' I coughed at her greetings; it was just so typical of her.

Nora accepted her greeting eagerly though. 'Me too! I can't wait to battle you!' The girls high-fived and began to excitedly chatter.

'Aw great. Now there're two of them.' I muttered to myself at the terrible scene before me.

Ren agreed with my sentiment. 'I know what you mean. This is…' Whatever this was will never be known as Nora dragged him into the girls' conversation despite his protests. I cringed in pity for the guy but did not attempt a rescue in fear of taking his place instead. Hey, call me a coward but self-preservation was my foremost policy.

Once the others were occupied, Pyrrha brought up a more personal topic. 'You introduced yourself as the leader. I reckon you're now comfortable with the title?'

Ah, right. She and I had a chat about this. 'Yeah… yes. I'm okay with it now. You were right. It has nothing to do with being the strongest person; I'll never beat Alex in terms of strength. It's more a matter of who's unlucky enough to shoulder the responsibility. You can say I specialize in such misfortunes.' I smiled to show that I was just jesting. The smile faltered however, when I saw the serious expression on her face. 'Is there something wrong?'

'Huh? Oh no. Not at all.'

Not at all my ass. There was definitely something there. I kept my tongue, letting the silence take hold of the conversation. We looked at each other, her expecting me to saying something in reply while I just kept the uncomfortable silence going. It paid dividends as she eventually spilt the beans.

'It's about Jaune.' Jaune. Mmhmm. Right, Jaune. Who was that? 'My team leader.' Ohhh, him.

'The one you said I was similar to,' she nodded, 'he's going through a tough time?' She nodded again.

'He's drifting away from the team. Instead, he spends his time with a guy called Cardin Winchester.' A frown settled as she spat out the name.

Taking into account Pyrrha's personality and her high level of hostility at the Cardin individual, I extrapolated. 'I guess he isn't the best friend material for you leader?'

'Not in the least. All that guy is fit for is a broken leg.' Extremely high level of hostility.

I pondered upon the matter. To be honest, I didn't know Cardin. Maybe he really was a terrible fellow. Maybe he was okay. I couldn't give her an advice based on stuff I didn't know about; not if I really wanted to be of help. While giving advice was not my forte, I sure wasn't going to let her down when she had helped me before. I paid my debts.

'If Jaune's really anything like me, I don't think you need to worry.' I paused to gather my next words into an organized structure before continuing. 'If I ever separated myself from the team, it sure as hell would be a temporary situation. There's no way I will abandon the team.' She looked at me without somewhat doubtful eyes.

'Look, people like me, we have our little pride. We may act like we don't most of time, like not getting mad when we get our butt kicked or screaming like a little girl when surrounded by a bunch of Grimms, but I assure you it's there. It kicks in when we do something stupid and it could affect those around us we care for. And when it kicks in, it's gonna set things straight.'

'Jaune will be back as soon as he gets himself out of whatever pickle he landed in. When he does, all you need to do is to welcome him with a good ass-kicking.' I said all these cool words while suppressing the extremely strong sensation of embarrassment inside of me. I don't know how they did it in the movies; it's definitely something you can't do easily in real life.

Well, she seemed to be relieved at my words, so I guess it's something. I hoped Jaune really did return to his senses soon or my advice was going to be false.

Steering the conversation away, I asked, 'what brings you here to the Coliseum?'

'Well, I wanted to train with Ren and Lestia. I felt there was nowhere better than here for a fight.'

'You can say that again. Lestia's been so down lately I brought her here for a little cheering up.'

'She becomes happier with fights?'

'Like giving a candy to a baby.'

'That's so… Nora.'

'So it would seem. Tell me something; why was Ren flying through the air when we arrived?'

She giggled at the memory. 'Ah. That's because Nora decided the "No Dust" rule they agreed upon at the start of the fight was no longer worth adhering to. You might have noticed but her weapon can cause quite an explosion.'

'So Ren got blasted by a rocket.'

'Yes, that would be describing the situation nicely.' I made a mental note to avoid Nora for the sake of my health. 'It's a shame though. I was hoping for a proper training myself but it looks like my two friends are too tired to fight anymore.' There was a question in her eyes; she was definitely challenging me to a duel.

No way; she would totally destroy me. Luckily I had an alternative for her. 'I think I can arrange a little something for your training.'

-x-x-x-x-

'You're the best partner ever.' Lestia gave me a tiny kiss on the cheek before running to the centre of the arena where Pyrrha awaited. You can see the obvious joy that flooded her as she ran. I felt satisfied at having her mood picked up.

'How good is she?' Ren asked.

I considered her. 'She's rather good. Always at her best when in a fight.'

'I know how that's like,' Nora watched eagerly. Personally, I felt Lestia was slightly more mature than her and thanked Fortune for this small mercy.

We three were in the spectator's seat and a bit far from the other two to hear them as they exchanged their greetings. They bowed and brought up their weapons, Lestia unfolding her Bladed Leaf and Pyrrha wielding her shield and spear. Or it might have been a javelin. I don't know. Pyrrha began to observe her opponent.

Lestia, on the other hand, did no such thing.

One thing about Lestia is that she did not have a cunning gene in her. She was the purest, most honest person I've ever met. If she was sad, she showed that she was sad. If she was happy, she displayed it. If she was angry, she let you know. I never had to second guess her. That was one of her most attractive qualities.

Sadly, her honesty showed itself in her combats too; she always went all-out from the start. I have tried to fix this particular trait of hers but then learned that such thing was impossible. She simply could not hide herself.

As she dashed towards the green-eyed warrior, Lestia whirled her weapon and jumped into the air.

Then she jumped off midair, as if she was stepping off the ground, and launched herself straight towards Pyrrha.

Ren and Nora's eyes went wide.

'Did she just step on air?' Nora asked.

'I think she actually did.' Ren replied. They looked at me for an answer.

'That's her semblance, yes. She calls it Wind Step.'

Other than letting her walk on air, wind step also granted her incredible speed. In fact, the main function of wind step was the heightened agility. If I recalled correctly, she could not keep the wind step for more than six consecutive steps. She did not tell me why there was such a limitation, just informing me there was.

Pyrrha, however, had amazing reaction time. Despite the surprise, she managed to shield herself from Lestia's initial blow and dodged the follow up sweep. Her guard was instantly back up and her javelin transformed into a sword. As Lestia closed in for the melee, she met her in force.

Fighting close quarters with Lestia is harder than it sounds. The thing is; people instinctively perceive others to be on the ground. When they attack, they expect the opponent to dodge to the left, or right or backwards. They do not expect the opponent to dodge upwards. However, Lestia can, and when she does, it confused you. Lestia, on the other hand, has been fighting in such a manner all her life. She did not suffer a penalty fighting an enemy who seemed to be upside down, or below her, or above her.

I could see the difference between the two huntresses. Lestia rained down swings on Pyrrha with fluid series of actions, well accustomed to the puzzling perspectives of her fighting style. Meanwhile, Pyrrha had to intentionally consider individual blows because many of her counter responses were no longer feasible against an opponent who walked the wind.

However, Pyrrha was good; really good. Within a minute or two of fighting, she was developing a new sequence of counter attacks to fend off Lestia's attacks. It took Alex longer to achieve this. I always suspected she was a superb fighter but now I had proof.

Pyrrha juggled her sword into its rifle form and fired off a round. Lestia faltered, stepping aside to dodge the shot. Doing so, Pyrrha's javelin slammed into her. She gritted her teeth in pain; although most of the damage should have been withstood by her aura, some of it must have filtered through. She pulled out the javelin and tossed it to the side, which then soared back into Pyrrha's hand. Hmm. That must have been Pyrrha's semblance.

Regaining her composure, Lestia initiated another wave of attack. Faster than I could follow, the Bladed Leaf struck Pyrrha's shield in succession. She then disengaged and strafed before any reprisal from Pyrrha came. Pyrrha shot another couple of bullets but Lestia was prepared such a reaction. She avoided them nimbly and reclosed the distance between her and her opponent, opting to lash out before Pyrrha could change back her weapon into its sword form.

Pyrrha didn't even try. Instead, she tossed her shield and struck Lestia squarely in the abdomen.

'Oof.' Lestia flew, her breath knocked out of her. She fumbled on the ground, unable to coordinate her body. I rushed to her side, the others following behind.

'You okay?'

She took a moment before answering. 'I got served completely, didn't I? Damn, that's embarrassing.'

'Really? Because I found it impressive,' said Nora, improving my opinion of her significantly. 'You were flying. That's so damn awesome.'

Ren opined, 'this is the first time I've seen Pyrrha being so haphazard. It was quite a nice change of pace.' He sure knew the nicest things to say.

Pyrrha was with us now. 'I confess, I've never encountered such a fighting style. I panicked a bit at the beginning.' How very kind of her to admit such honest feelings.

The torrent of compliment was having the desired effect; Lestia's complexion brightened. Thank god. It looked like she wasn't about to revert to her gloomy state. As she began to animatedly exclaim Pyrrha's brilliance and battle prowess, her jovial self seemed to return. I felt a twinge of triumph. My mission was a success.

Pyrrha asked for my impression of the battle between the two. 'What did you think of the fight?'

I was about to answer when the scroll vibrated. Hmm. A notification. I wonder what it was about. 'Hold on, let me get this first.' I brought it out and checked. I read through the message. I blinked. Then I read it again.

'What is it?' Lestia nudged my side.

I showed her.

**To the highly unfortunate that goes by the title Team Leaders of RWBY and BLAC.**

**If you do recall, you two and your six team members owe me a punishment detail thanks to the two dust princesses. ****If you do not recall, surprise!**

**I am sure you all had great plans for the weekend ahead. Hours and days of rest and respite scheduled to ensure your reentry into the world of academics on the coming Monday. Well, let me ask you a question; how would you feel to have it all taken from you? **

**Not sure what the answer is? You will soon find out this coming Friday.**

**So on that note, would the two teams kindly make your way to the classroom tomorrow night after dinner with your teams? ****Do be a dear and be in combat gear, won't you?**

**Now, I am aware you have many questions at this point. What is the punishment going to be? Why do I have to sacrifice my precious Friday night for it? For what purpose must we be in combat gear? And why is my diction so grandmotherly? ****Well, the answer to all that is; you will find out when you get here! Except for the last one. You will never know the answer to that one.**

**Anyway, be not tardy and arrive there after dinner.**

**Oh, and Balthazar. Do try to look smart for the damn thing. I'm going to film the whole process.**

**Cheerios.**

**Melanis Ithel**

The silence settled around us.

Then Phyrrha asked, 'this man is our professor, right?'

I answered, 'could have fooled me.'

This academy is so freaking weird.

-x-x-x-x-

**A/N: This chpt feels so… ugh. I don't know. I make/probably/likely will do a rewrite for this.**

**I never knew how difficult the filler chpt can be. Luckily the chpts after have some clear cut events going. **

**Speaking of clear cut, I will try to cut down my chpt size. I have been thinking and I think it's abt time I broke up one major event into pieces. Putting them in 1 chpt just really kills it for me. For reading wise, I think it would be decent as well.**

**Also, all those who messaged me with supports. I appreciate you most greatly. Really I do. It's what keeps me going.**

**Cheerios**

**Edit: Changed the Melanis's message to keep him more in character**


	9. Chapter 9: A Hunter's Duty: part 1

**DISCLAIMER: Those that ought to belong to others shall belong to their respective owners. Those that ought to belong to me, if any, shall belong to me.**

**A/N: Ahem. Here ya go.**

**So I'm just going to conveniently ignore how slow I was at getting this chpt out cuz I'm a [EXPLETIVE REDACTED].**

**Anw, enjoy. **

-x-x-x-x-

A Hunter's Duty: part 1

'For Remnant's sake, Lestia. If we're late, you know it's your fault. We don't even need all that food. It's not like we're going on a freaking picnic!' We sprinted down the corridor, evading or shoving aside the students in our path.

'Quit your yapping. I'm telling you, having extra food is always better than running out of it. Trust me.'

'Trust you. Right.' With these last words in, I closed the matter. I wanted to say a few more things, mind you. It's just that I hated when people nagged at me; I wouldn't be caught dead being called a nagger over a matter so trivial. Instead, When the moment when I could say "I told you so" came, I was definitely going to take it.

Soon we reached our destination: the combat tactics classroom. Ugh. I was getting too familiar with this room. Even in the dim light of the corridor's evening lamps, I easily recognized its door. Lestia, ever the eager one, shoved the door wide open with a bang.

The familiar faces turned towards us at our entrance. The members of Team RWBY had already gathered, as well as Circe and Alex who had gone ahead of us from the cafeteria. As I had expected, we were the last. Or were we? Hold on a minute. A quick glance told me Melanis had not yet arrived. That made us on time.

'Hey Lestia. Come here for a moment!' That was Ruby, waving frantically with a smile plastered on her face. Yang and Weiss – whom I flinched involuntarily when I saw; it looked like my guilt reaction was not completely flushed from my system – were by her side.

'You know her?' I asked my partner. I was unaware they were acquainted.

'Yeah. Met her last week in the obstacle course. She's awesome. Did you know that she's only fifteen? That's soooo adorable!' The hooded girl's waving got a bit more frantic. 'Ah, she needs me. Catch you later, Balty.' Lestia left my side and joined the trio of girls. Animated chatter began subsequently.

As the one left behind, my options were to wade in solitude or join the other group. Well, no brainer there; I walked over to where Circe, Alex and Blake were.

'So how did the grocery shopping go?' Alex asked, aware how irritated I got about being dragged around by Lestia needlessly.

'Tiring and pointless. There's no way she needs all that food.' My mind went to the packets of food sitting in my pockets that I was carrying for Lestia. I should pass them over later.

Blake greeted me warmly, 'hey there, Pretty face. Haven't seen you in a while.'

I blanched. For Remnant's sake, I had completely forgotten that incident. Why was it that everyone seemed to have an embarrassing memory of me when I had none on them?

'Hi, Blake. You can call me Balthazar, by the way.' I tried to sound as nonchalant as possible. It didn't really work.

'I don't know. I think Pretty face is more endearing.' Her eyes sparked with mischievous humor that was at contrast with the quiet personality she usually displayed. For some reason, I knew I would be hearing Pretty face for a long time.

Alex chimed in. 'So what's this Pretty face thing?' He slapped me in the back in what he probably considered as a friendly manner; it stung like hellfire. 'Did you get yourself a girl without us knowing?'

I rubbed the bruised area with a grimace. 'I wish, Alex. I wish. No, Blake and I had a little episode a few weeks back. She's just bringing up an incident better left unremembered.'

'On the contrary, I imagine the mentioned incident is immensely entertaining; doubtlessly well worth remembering.' Circe opined as well, a tiny smile framing the beautiful face in a subtle manner. I let out an exasperated sigh. The two were having fun ganging up on me. You really couldn't trust anyone these days.

In this sort of situation, the smart thing was to change the subject. 'So where's Melanis? Shouldn't he be here by now?'

Sadly, the others weren't compassionate enough to let the matter drop. 'Woah, there. Don't you be changing the subject now, Balthazar. Tell us the juicy details.' Alex dogged with the persistence of a pit bull. Circe did not comment but I noticed that she was listening in interestedly.

I appealed to Blake for assistance. 'Tell them, Blake. Explain to them nothing happened.'

Blake – Grimm take that girl and chuck her into Tartarus – decided to betray me. She wrapped her arms around herself and murmured, 'I… I can't. It's so embarrassing.' Her expression was a work of art – one which I would have appreciated had it been played on somebody else. She looked every bit a quiet, coy girl who was being asked to share the details about her first date. She even hid her face behind her hands for the added effect. Once more, I thought to myself how you really couldn't trust anyone these days.

Circe caught on the theatrics immediately. 'My, my. Balthazar. Just what deeds have you perpetrated on her?'

I was being cornered, and regrettably, I was never very good under pressure. Despite myself, I was beginning to get flustered. Come on Balthazar. Defend yourself. 'Now, wait just a minute. Here's what really happened…'

I didn't get another word in. Just as I was about to begin my clarification, a gunshot rang out. It was deafening, just as all unexpected gunshots tended to be. All four of us immediately dropped low, assumed defensive stances and began scanning the surrounding to seek any possible enemies. I had Fiasco out in one hand and a smoke grenade primed in the other, ready to detonate at the first sign of incoming fire. From my prone position, I swept over my field of vision swiftly but methodically with Fiasco aimed. This was the sort of reaction weeks of warrior lessons have ingrained in me.

On the other side of the room, the four girls had their own weapons out as well. From the smoke emanating from her gauntlet, I reckoned it was Yang who had fired the shot. Actually, there were five figures there now. There was one more person in that group and all four huntresses had their weapons trained on that figure.

Wait a minute, wasn't that Melanis? I lowered Fiasco and took a closer look. It really was the combat tactics teacher. The others seemed to be making this realization just as I did, if their lowered weapons were any indication. I wondered why Yang opened fire upon the teacher.

A relieved sigh escaped from Ruby. 'It was just Melanis.'

Yang let out with irritation. 'Can you not jump on us like that? We all have guns, you know.'

Melanis scoffed her comment, 'ha. The day I die to one of you is the day I deserve to die. You wouldn't even graze me.' Yang looked offended at his cavalier dismissal. 'On another note, your reaction earned you two extra grades in the Hostile Environment Response topic and cost you one grade in the Meticulous Scenario Handling.' Yang grinned, because those adjustments now put her ahead of Alex in the former topic. Also, she really didn't give a crap about the latter topic. Alex, on the other hand, now looked dismayed about losing his lead.

Melanis noticed all these shifts in emotions and carried on. 'I see you all know each other to various degrees, some more familiar than I would have guessed.' His gaze bounced between Blake and me, informing me than he had overheard our conversation somehow. Involuntarily, I gave a room a sweep over, wondering if there were listening devices planted. It wouldn't surprise me if there was.

'It pleases me to see all of you here,' said Melanis, 'I'm sure you're all wondering what the punishment will be like.' He took out a can of lemonade and took a sip. Knowing his antics, we just waited for him to resume.

'For those of you who don't know, there are two duties the huntsmen and huntresses of Beacon must perform concurrently with their academic pursuits. The first of the two is known as patrols.' Another sip.

'Anybody who knows how to read a map can tell that Vale isn't too far from the Grimm, despite what the government wants the people to think. There are forests to the north, east and south where the Grimm walks, kills, eats and sleeps. Grimms, being creatures of reprehensible stupidity, like to venture near or, in the rare cases, into the city.' Another.

'It has been the age long responsibility of the hunters to prevent such interactions. That is why the students of Beacon are sent on patrols to guard our beloved city. However, such opportunities only came when the students hit the year two mark… until today.' The emptied can was crushed in his hands.

'Tonight, you eight will be on patrol; the first year one cadets to be doing so in sixty-eight years. Whether you will also be the last or not depends on your progress. Let's see how you do it in a real operation.' Just my luck; the first in sixty-eight years had to be my year. I swear, I must have pissed off Fortune real bad in my previous life or something.

Submitting to the wheel of misfortune that was also known as my life, I ran a mental calculation of the gears I had on me and estimated whether they should be enough for facing off against the Grimm. Most of my gadgets were on me already; I probably did not need the Apocalypse or Cataclysm class hardware – those were the sort of things I saved for wartimes.

'Well, if there aren't any questions, let's make our way to the transport.'

Ruby raised her hand.

'Yes?' Melanis noticed.

'You said there were two responsibilities for hunters, right?'

'Yes. I do recall saying so.'

'So what's the other one? You know, other than patrol.'

'Ah yes. The other responsibility. Take a guess, Ruby. What do you think it would be?'

'Uhm. Maybe training? I don't know.'

Melanis smiled his roguish smile. 'Well, nice try but no. It goes without saying that one of the responsibilities of a hunter would be to hunt, wouldn't it?'

-x-x-x-x-

Remember how I said before the Coliseum looked big enough to house an airship before? It turns out that I wasn't wrong. Melanis led Team BLAC and RWBY to the arena and in there was a private airship. Without much explanation regarding why an airship was illegally parked in academy premises, Melanis instructed us to board the vehicle, stating this was our transport.

As I boarded, I examined it skeptically. The airship was fraught with rather familiar modifications. I noticed that the glass panes were the blast proof kind; while not illegal in the strictest sense, they were usually utilized by the shadier sort of people. I could recognize the stealth thrusters – Harmony's own airship had those – and they were definitely not legalized on a private transport. To top it off, the vehicle plating was comprised of anti-detection material. This metallic substance scrambled electromagnetic waves upon contact, meaning it lessened the chances of being discovered by radars and onlookers. Manufacture of the alloy was highly complex and proportionately expensive. To cover an entire airship, one would need a fortune. Well, it looked as though Melanis had access to a fortune or two.

Basically, this was without a doubt an undermarket transport. At this point, one might wonder why his academic professor would possess an item of clearly illegitimate origins. However, I found myself unsurprised. I mean, come on; this was Melanis. Was the fact that he seemed to have connections to the criminal world that unbelievable? Everyone in this academy was mad, Melanis more so than most. This revelation was easy to swallow.

It did pique my curiosity though. Knowing Melanis, I was sure he would have made a name for himself in the undermarket. Obviously he did not go by "Melanis" there; I wondered what his alias was. As the airship lifted off and left academy air space, I furiously went through the mental list of undermarket individuals I've heard of but did not know personally and tried to match them to what little I knew of Melanis.

My musing got cut short by Melanis' voice over the intercom. '_Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. This is your captain speaking. Currently we're about three thousand metres above ground, heading towards the northern end of our beloved city of Vale. In about ten minutes, we will reach the friendly local Grimms which will welcome our arrival with open paws and fangful smiles.' _

'_Now, before we arrive, there's a small matter that you all must sort out. You're to divide yourselves into four teams of two.'_ I shot a glance at Lestia's direction. Our eyes met and we exchanged a smile in agreement. I knew whom my team was going to comprise of.

Melanis, however, had a different idea. _'Knowing you all, you would have chosen within your teams. However, this is a punishment for fighting between members of the two teams, ain't it? Therefore, your teammate for this patrol must be from the other team. So man up, put your social pants on and get yourself a new partner for tonight. Once you are done with that, you'll get the next set of instructions. ' _The speaker went dead, leaving us to our thoughts. I looked at the members of Team RWBY. Who will I become partner with?

'Melanis really knows how to be a thorn in the side, doesn't he?' Alex lamented. Heads bobbed up and down in agreement within the cockpit. Discussions started as a few of us conversed about our options while others, such as myself, silently contemplated my possible choices.

Ruby was, well, I didn't really know her. The most interaction I've had with her was to go to Melanis' office with her and that was hardly what I call an ice-breaking event. Plus, she's fifteen. I was weaker than her. Working with her was only going wound my pride.

I looked at Weiss. I guess you could say I knew her better than any of the others. I did meet her first among them, after all. However, something told me pairing up with her was going to bad for my mental health in the long run. She still was unaware that I was the thief who had chucked a flashbang grenade at her and I wanted to keep it that way.

Blake was somewhat familiar but not wholly. Also, what I've seen of her so far informed me that going with her might be just as frustrating and irritating as how going around with Lestia is usually like. She had an aura that could freeze napalm and melt granite with its sheer imposing presence. Oh, no doubt she had a fun side hidden deep within that armor of indifference and composure, but most of the said fun would be at my expense. If I could, I wanted to avoid that. Still, she was one of the better possibilities.

Now, Yang. The girl I've had least interaction with and the one I feared the most. She was probably the type who would do hazardous and suicidal things just for the kicks. There was a very real danger that if I performed below expectations, she might just altogether dispose of me to vent her frustration. Hmm, when put that way, that sounded like Alex. In fact, I realized that Yang was pretty much the female version of Alex. Aggressive, bold, unrelenting, absurdly powerful and absolutely a bad idea for me to partner.

Anywany, in the end, I didn't even need to consider Yang. As I was pondering, she stepped forward, grabbed Alex by the collar, said, 'you'll do,' and dragged him to her side.

'Now aint' that aggressive,' commented Alex. From the smirk on the face, he wasn't unsatisfied with the arrangement. And just like that, team number one was formed.

The rest of us looked at the pair, still deep within our own thoughts. Now there were only three to choose from. Reconsidering my options, I figured I would prefer to go with Blake. Among them, she was the most comfortable.

Lestia seemed to be inspired by the blond huntress. She shot Ruby a glance. 'Ruby, let's team up.' The younger girl, whose face was initially creased with worry, brightened at my partner's offer.

'Really? You want to team up with me?' Her words were full of relief; apparently, she was concerned about the team making as well.

Lestia nodded, 'we're gonna be the best team. I just know it.' The way they excitedly chattered sure made me think they suited each other. The team number two was formed.

Now that reduced my option to two; Blake or Weiss. This wasn't much of a dilemma, was it? Of course I would choose Blake. Her sharp wits and sharper tongue might not make her the most comfortable among the companions but it sure as hell was better than going with the heiress. Yup, Blake for me, please. And that would mean Weiss would be pairing up with… wait a minute.

Aw shit.

That would mean Weiss would be pairing up with Circe. That was a recipe for disaster, or my name wasn't Balthazar Venarius. If those two became a team, the resultant mess would probably require a body bag or two to clean up. Sigh. Although it pained me to admit it, it seemed self-sacrifice was in order. I knew what had to be done.

'Blake, you are acquainted with Circe, right? Can you team up with her?' I enquired.

Her brow rose, brining emphasis to the gold in her eyes. 'If fighting each other in a dueling environment can be considered being acquainted, you can say we are.'

'So will you?'

'Pardon me, Balthazar. I am fully capable of getting a partner myself.' Circe seemed displeased.

Blake was not happy with my proposal either. 'Why are you playing the matchmaker for her, Pretty face? She makes her own decisions, you know.' I gritted my teeth at the name but bit down any remark.

I gave an exasperated sigh. 'Why are you guys opposing me? Are you saying we put Circe and Weiss in one team?'

Well, that shut them up.

Unexpectedly, Weiss backed me up, although not in the nicest way possible. 'His point is valid.' From the way she said that, you could tell she was finding the notion unbelievable. 'Even though he's a criminal who steals other people's possessions, I'm willing to work with him for the good of the two teams.' I would have retorted if it wasn't for the fact that the apple incident really was my fault. I swear to Fortune to get rid of that bad habit of mine.

'Thanks for putting up with me, Your Highness.' I opted for sarcastic instead.

She glared daggers at my response. 'I can see this going to be a wonderful experience already.'

Circe and Blake witnessed the exchange between us and sweatdropped.

'I don't know whether they are getting on well or just plainly incompatible,' Blake opined.

'My sentiment precisely,' Circe agreed.

'Anyway, let's go. We should strategize before the actual patrol begins.' The two girls, unlike Weiss and myself, got on well from the get-go. Just like Alex-Yang and Lestia-Ruby teams, they separated from the other teams to better understand each other and figure out possible offensive and defensive combos they could unleash with their skills combined.

In fact, this was the standard step one should be taking when assigned to a new partner. If you learned about your partner's strength and weaknesses beforehand, you could discover new avenues of attack as well as avoid any unpleasant surprises in a fight. Melanis has drilled into us many times the importance of this procedure, highlighting the fact that it has saved lives before. Learning about your partner was crucial.

Needless to say, Weiss and I did no such thing. Even without the whole "robbing her family's business warehouse" thing to hinder my socializing capability, I doubt I would have gotten along with the heiress. She was headstrong, unreasonable and absolutely incapable of compromise. At the end of our session, the only thing I learned about her was her disagreeable personality and that she can hold her own in a verbal battle.

We would have argued all the way if it was not for Melanis over the intercom. _'Ladies and gentlemen, this is your beloved captain speaking. I'm gonna work on the assumption that you've all got your teams set by now.' _Around the cockpit, the conversations ceased and attentions were paid to the man.

'_Now, there's one small detail that I might have forgotten to mention. Other than simply patrolling, I have another job for you, as part of your punishment, of course.' _Groans rose around at the mention of the additional work.

'_Don't be like that; you can't seriously expect it to be that easy, can you? Patrolling is a duty, not a punishment. No, for you people, I have something more fulfilling in mind. Standby for the delivery.' _The line went dead with the last command. On cue, in the middle of the cockpit, the mission briefing table opened up to reveal a compartment within. All gathered around and peered inside, full of curiosity.

Within were countless amounts of bullets of all types. As I examined them closer, I realised that some of the caliber was suited for Fiasco. From the reactions garnered, it seemed that others had found bullets that worked for her weapon as well. This happy coincidence was definitely intentional.

'_As you would have figured out, these ammunitions are fitted for your guns. Now, why have I gone all that trouble to make you special ammos? Well, the answer is because today's mission objective is not eradication but capture.' _Murmurings rose at his revelation. Capture? We are catching Grimm? Why? It's not like there is a market for pet Grimm, is there?

'_However, one might say your weapons are too lethal for such a purpose in mind, won't he? These rounds are tranquilizers to mitigate that flaw. Well, I say tranquilizers but that's just from Grimm perspective. Don't shoot yourselves unless you don't mind having an eternal rest.'_

'_In teams of two, the eight of you will try to catch as many Grimm as possible. The tranquilizers work but they take time so your main job will be to hit them successfully and then to stay alive until the drug takes effect. Once they are out, mark the location of the game and at the end of the patrol, those will be credited under your respective team's score. Keep in mind that Grimm that are tougher, such as Death Stalker or Nevermore, are worth more than mere beowolves and ursas, unless the one you catch has a bounty on it.'_

'_In case you're wondering, there is a reward system for this. The first, second and third team with the highest score will be exempt from the next punishment. Sadly, the fourth place will not be given such a reward.' _That announcement sparked the fires of passion within us. It certainly had my blood boiling. I'll be damned if I had to another round of this stupid bullshit with Weiss again.

'_I'm sure the reward is motivation enough for all of you. Well, that's all the instruction I've got for you. Hmm, hold on. I seem to be forgetting something. Oh right. You're all assigned a color. When you are marking your catch, light up the smoke signal of corresponding color. If you put up the wrong one, bear the consequence of giving a free kill, metaphorically speaking.'_

'_It should be quite obvious whose team has which color, isn't it? It was too much of a hassle to come up with original colors so I just matched the smoke grenade colors to the color preference of the members of Team RWBY. So just take the grenades that tickles your fancy, girls.'_

'_Now for the last part. Remember that this is still a patrol. Your primary role tonight is to ensure that Grimm does not pose a threat to the safety of the Vale. Capture is a luxury only to be had if we can get away with it. Do not forget your calling as a huntsmen and huntresses. The reason hunters exist is to protect the people from the threat of Grimm. Do not let anyone tell you otherwise.' _There was a severity in the reminder that was usually absent in Melanis' demeanor. It seemed that despite his easygoing character, the professor of combat tactics did possess a serious side.

When he spoke again, he was back to his cheerful self. _'Ladies and gentlemen, with conclusion of the mission briefing, I'm delighted to inform you that the ETA to the drop point is five minutes. With arrival imminent, I request all of you to return to the seats in your teams and fasten your seatbelts.'_ With the prospect of upcoming battle, excitement and anxiety built up. Worry clouded my mind for some reason but I chalked it up as pre-battle jitters.

To cool myself, I took a glimpse out into the forest below. It has been a while since I've last been to these forests. Around here somewhere was an abandoned smuggling den that I had raided with Harmony before. It turned out to be a lucrative venture as the security was ludicrous. As I dug up the memory further, I recalled getting wasted that night with the newfound wealth and regretting my decision the day after.

Originally, we had planned to visit the den again once their guards slackened eventually. However, that plan had to be scrapped when the smugglers abandoned the den because the Grimm population in the area increased in density.

Oh wait. The Grimm population in that area increased in density. Aw, shit. This stretch of the woods was actually dangerous, nothing like in the Emerald Forest. Even though it pained me to admit it, if I wanted to get through tonight unscathed, I needed to cooperate with Weiss. I mustered up temperance to approach her.

However, timing was not on my side. Just as I was about to open my mouth, Melanis blared through the intercom. _'Well, ladies and gentlemen. We have arrived at the drop point. If you have yet to do so, please fasten your seat belts.' _Hearing these words again, the worry nagged at me again.

I grumbled, 'you know, I'm really getting sick of this "ladies and gentlemen" shit.'

Surprisingly, Weiss concurred, 'couldn't agree more.' I guess she wasn't the type who disagreed for the sake of disagreeing. It was a point in her favor. A small one, but it still was.

I would have continued with the conversation, if it wasn't for the constant bad feeling I was experiencing, overwhelming all my thought. On an instinctive level, I could sense a terrible fate about to befall on us. I racked my brain. Why did I have such a bad feeling? The answer was inside me somewhere.

'_ETA fifteen seconds.' _Melanis was sounding extremely pleased, which was unnerving. Melanis' joy feasted upon the fresh despairs of those around him. Although I had no evidence to indicate so, I was sure the uneasiness I was feeling had something to do with him somehow.

Then I realised something. With the realization came more worry and a question. I tried to communicate with Melanis through the mouthpiece, hoping to clarify a query. 'Melanis. Why did you call our destination drop point? Shouldn't it be the landing point?'

A pregnant pause filled the air as no reply came. Weiss and I exchanged a glance then gazed outside. I reckoned we were at least a few kilometers above ground. I felt a cold sweat breakout on my back.

'Melanis. Please answer. Why did you say drop point?' I asked again, my voice getting a bit frantic. I really did not want to do this.

Weiss seemed to be more accepting of the imminent fate though. 'Sometimes, I feel this school is just… too much.' With that understatement of the century, she furled her brows and seemed to gather a train of thought. She was probably thinking how to get out of this alive.

I tried to think as well. However, I found the prospect of an imminent drop too daunting to successfully concentrate on higher order planning. All I could do was mutter, 'You can say that aggGAAHHHHHH!'

I didn't even get to finish my lamenting.

-x-x-x-x-

Do you recall how Melanis emphasized on us putting on our damn seat belts? Well that was because he's a screwed up sonovabitch who probably didn't receive enough love in his childhood and then grew up all fucked up in the head.

As I hurtled towards the ground, I tried to repress my anger and get out of the bloody seat belt that was binding me to the seat. If I did not hurry, this might literally be the last chair I ever rest on. Abandoning attempts to unclasp it in mundane manner – a luxury I could not afford – I unsheathed a throwing knife and sliced through the material. I kicked myself free. The chair swirled and drifted away.

As my descent continued, I searched for my current partner. It took me a bit while but I eventually located her – it helped that she was so blindingly white in the backdrop of the night sky. Curses, it seemed she was having difficulty getting out of her deathtrap. I could imagine why; her rapier was not ideal for cutting. She could have tried using her dust but I doubt she had the control for it at the moment. I had to help her.

And if I wanted to be of any help, it had to be within the next minute or two. The ground was getting too close for my comfort. Luckily, with the experience gathered from years of airborne facility trespassing, I was quite apt at navigating through the air. Without much incident, I managed to reach Weiss.

The trepidation of imminent death was apparent on her face. 'Help me! I can't get this off!' She tried to tug the belt loose to free her sword arm but it was proving resistant to her efforts. I briefly wondered if we could sue Melanis for attempted murder before refocusing on the crisis at hand. A splatter on the ground gets no say in the court.

'Stop fidgeting, I'm gonna get you out.' Taking extreme care not to injure her by accident, I cut through the straps that held her. Once she was no longer bound, I grabbed her hands, pulled her free and kicked the seats away. 'I hope you can get us to land safely because my landing strategy is risky as all hell.'

She still seemed a bit shaken with fear but was quickly regaining her wits. She brandished her rapier and the revolver chamber in the centre turned in accordance to her will. 'Yes. Myrtenaster can handle this.' The chamber glowed with dust. Her words brought me immense amount of comfort; I wasn't keen on betting my life on foam grenades this time. I mean, this was kilometers we were talking about. The manufacturers definitely did not have this situation in mind when they designed these things.

With a wave of the sword, she created a glyph under us. It worked like a platform, halting our descent. Honestly speaking, it was terrifying to be standing on, looking extremely fragile and not at all tangible. Meh, I guess I shouldn't complain. I mean, I didn't fall through or anything. Still it was really not something one should be on if faint of heart.

With my own safety attained, I had the time and peace of mind to check on the others, to see if they managed to find ways to avoid grisly death.

I located Circe and Blake first, only because their landing strategy was so flashy and eye-catching. Hundreds of link tendrils formed around the two girls, trailing their path through the air. The links were dozens of metres long. Eventually, the strings began to catch enough air to slow their descent into a glide, much like a pair of spiders ballooning through the air – although much less horrifying to look at. I shuddered briefly as the imagery of a ballooning spider appeared in my mind.

I only managed to catch a glimpse of Lestia and Ruby. As I was looking around, two swift blurs just flew right past me, leaving behind rose petals and wind blasts in their wake. Those two were actually building up speed, racing each other to the ground. Crazy huntresses with their crazy semblances. Ah well, I wasn't worried. If there was anyone in this world who was not in danger of falling to her death, it was Lestia. I trusted her to keep Ruby safe if the red-hooded girl was unable to make a safe landing on her own.

I almost did not get to watch Alex and Yang's landing. Just before Weiss and I dropped below the canopy, there was a flash of gold in the distance as the huntsman materialized his auric armor around him. The ensuing clash that reverberated throughout the forest informed me that they had landed. I figured they didn't even get scratched despite the violent impact. They were monsters like that.

When the ground came, all nice and slow, I was glad. I jumped off the glyphs and made contact with solid earth. Ah blessed mother Remnant. I love you just where you are, right under my feet. Okay, that sounded more condescending that I meant it to be. You understand me, right? Please don't misinterpret. I had enough enemies already. Cough, cough, I'm looking at you, Fortune.

'I am getting sick of this patrol already.' Weiss muttered by my side, brushing away the leaves that latched onto her clothes when we penetrated the tree tops.

'Yes, well, maybe next time you want to pick a fight with my teammate, you'll think twice.' I retorted.

She replied exasperated, 'ugh. Don't make it sound as if the fault is mine, apple thief. If I didn't need to track you down, I wouldn't have met with the Arganets girl in the first place.'

'Her name's Circe.'

'Whatever. It's not as if she addresses me anything other than Schnee.' The bitterness was strong.

I reconsidered my stance. Perhaps, it wasn't fair to the heiress for me to push her like this. In all honesty, it was possible Circe was more at fault for their bad relationship. I raised my hands to indicate that I was going to drop the matter. 'Let's just get to patrol, shall we? No need to make this more unpleasant than it has to.'

'Just don't come near my belongings, thief.' I bit on my lips to quell the acrid remark that formed on the tip of my tongue. This was seriously testing my patience. I decided to just get on with the mission, opting to avoid conversation.

I switched on my mouthpiece and spoke to the rest of my team. 'Team BLAC, this is Balt speaking. Status report, over.'

The placid, clear voice of Circe replied almost immediately. '_Circe reporting in. Status normal, over.'_

Alex was next. _'Alex repor… Ouch, stop that. You can't have this; I need to report in. Seriously, will you cut that out.'_ There was a sound of metallic clang over the earpiece. _'Heh, serves you right, goldie. Alex reporting in. I've got the worst partner for this patrol but other than that, everything's fine, over.'_

Lestia's reported last, as usual. _'All's fine, Balty. Gotta start catching Grimm now, bye! Ruby, wait for me!' _As usual, she totally ignored the speech protocol as well. I've given up trying to fix her by this point.

All in all, everything was fine, I guess.

'Your team has walkie-talkies?' The girl in white asked, rather impressed. I puffed up in pride – having a radio transceiver communication channel for the team had been my idea. It was just something I always had in my heists with Harmony and I thought it could benefit my team on our missions. So far, it has been a smashing success.

'Quite useful, won't you say?' She conceded a nod. Then she scowled as I grinned at her admission.

'Don't let that get to your head.'

'Whatever, you say, ma'am.' I smirked even wider. Fed up, she strutted away. I called out after her, 'which way do you want to go ma'am?'

She turned momentarily to spit out, 'since you're so smart, why don't you lead?' before resuming her walk. I followed behind, feeling triumphant. May this wouldn't be as bad as I originally thought it would be.

Famous last words.

-x-x-x-x-

**A/N: So finally I am dividing up chpts in to separate parts. Holy crap, took me long enough. Hopefully that translate to faster chpt uploading schedule but I really don't know. Once I hit December, I can really free up schedule. I really can't promise you readers a proper schedule before that, I'm sorry.**

**I'm still collecting ideas for the final boss (the story's head villain). I have his/her (havn't decided on the gender yet) role and job figured out but not his/her fighting style, semblance, personality, background and all that gd stuff. Please help.**

**Also, next chpt is going to be a bit more action packed than this one. Or so I would like you to believe. Muhahahahaha! **


	10. Chapter 10: A Hunter's Duty: part 2

****DISCLAIMER: Those that ought to belong to others shall belong to their respective owners. Those that ought to belong to me, if any, shall belong to me.****

**AN: The second part of the arc is out. Do enjoy!**

-x-x-x-x-

A Hunter's Duty: part 2

I was having the time of my life. Walking among the greens, basking in the moonlight, away from the pesky people. What's not to like? And the company I was with: absolutely grand. Weiss Schnee was a gem to be around. I assure you that every second I spent with her was a second deeply etched into my memory. Very, very deeply.

She was the worst companion I've ever had, and she earned that title by a landslide.

'We are definitely lost.' I deadpanned for the fourteenth time.

'We are not lost. Stop saying stupid things,' she stabbed back, just like the previous thirteen times.

'Look, princess. Why don't we admit a few facts in life? You don't like me. My feeling is mutual. The moon is full tonight. These woods are full of dangerous monsters that fantasize about devouring us upon sight. And we are bloody lost. There, not too hard, was it?' I snapped.

'Not only are you dimwitted, you've got a nasty personality.' She crossed her arms.

'Oh boohoo. You think my personality's nasty, let me just write that in my diary and cry myself to sleep.'

The anger on her face was neon. 'Screw you.' She stomped off.

Knowing how life threatening separating in this forest could be, I had no choice but to follow. We meandered through the forest trails in complete dead silence. I was aware I had been particularly acidic – even by my standards, mind you – but I really wasn't in a good mood. The entire affair of having to be in this forest in this ungodly hour on this Friday night was rubbing me the wrong way.

Right. I was downright sick of being led around. Time to solve the situation intellectually. I spoke into my mouthpiece. 'Alex, this is Balthazar. Do you copy, over?'

_'Loud and cl... for Oberon's sake. Yang, if you don't cut that out, I swear I'll brain you.' _Aw nuts. They were still having their little tiff going. It must be so nice to get along with your partner. _'Sorry boss. My partner's a twit. Anyway, hearing you loud and clear.' _Ah. It seemed finally I had my team member's undivided attention. _'How can I help, over?'_

'It seems we've lost our way. I'm gonna need a rough coordinate if I want to get anywhere before the end of the day. Do you think you can give me my rough location if you saw my surroundings, over?' Although I wasn't happy with the fact that I had to ask for help, I also wasn't willing to aimlessly wander with Weiss in tow.

_'Now you're just abusing my talents, over.' _Talent in question was Alex's photographic memory, of course. My guess was that Alex had already memorised the topography of the area while plummeting rom the airship.

'O thee of many talents, deliver upon thy miserable comrades respite and salvation, over.'

_'Can it, you conman. Just tell me what I need to know. Let's see if I can whip up a miracle or two, over.'_

Yes! He agreed to help. I wouldn't be lying if part of me had been expecting to be refuted. Alex was sort of a friend who would toss me into a volcano to teach me the power of fire. It was rather surprising that he would so simply grant me assistance. Maybe hanging out with Yang was distracting him somewhat. Anyway, I wasn't going to question a good thing.

I linked the visual capturing to the communication. 'Alright. Take a look. You can probably get something if you looked at the...'

A frigid voice appeared from behind me, bringing along a sense of deja vu; it was so reminiscent of how we had first met in the Schnee Warehouse that hearing it made a shiver run down my spine. 'What do you think you're doing?'

_'Yo, leader man. What's with the pause, over?' _Alex inquired about the pause. I paid him no heed. My attention was on the angry girl in front of me.

'Talk to you later, over and out.' I killed the comms and proceeded to answer her, 'I'm asking for directions from Alex, because clearly only one of us is concerned about being lost.

She crossed her arms. 'I told you; we're not lost!'

'Look, you can tell me the sky is pink, princess. Doesn't mean I'll believe you. Doesn't make it true neither.'

'You're intolerable,' she spat the word out. I kept an eye on the rapier now; it was waving around in the air too much for my liking.

'Maybe, but at least I know when to ask for help.'

'What's that supposed to mean?'

'I'm saying, your pigheaded pride is getting in the way of our mission objective. ' The gates were open now; I was going to let out everything out while I was at it.' We've spent the last two hours pointlessly trekking the forest because you insisted we can find the way around ourselves. I'm pretty darn sure we've been walking in circles. '

'Watch what you're saying. My pride isn't getting in the way of our mission.' She paused as if she was considering her next words, 'and it's not pigheaded.' I did notice that she didn't tackle the rest of my points. Maybe she did agree with me internally.

'Let me just ask for directions.' I suggested.

She refused, 'no, we don't need to. We're not lost.' Goddammit. Why Fortune? Why did you pair me up with her?

'What is it with you and asking for directions?' I wanted to rip out my hair. Why can't people be rational in difficult situations? 'It's because of you that we didn't even find a single Grimm ever since we've arrived!' I know, I know, I was complaining about not encountering a Grimm. However, the punishment for being last in this assignment – of having to redo a mission with Weiss – was one I did not wish to incur.

A howl echoed into the night, cutting off whatever Weiss was going to retort. Answering echoes reverbated all over the surroundings. They howls were getting closer.

Weiss glanced at the Myrtenaster briefly and gave it a flick. 'Well, here we go, Balthazar. The Grimm you've wanted so much are finally here.'

I wasn't really happy about it though. 'Let's just get them and get out of here.' I loaded the tranquilizer rounds into Fiasco.

-x-x-x-x-

Stay alive till the drug takes place indeed. Well, Weiss and I were soon learning that this was easier said than done.

'They're everywhere!' She yelled as another wave of beowolves burst forth from the nearby foliage. With a deft wave of Myrtenaster, fires snarled at them before they even landed.

'Yes, princess, I kinda noticed.' I shot thrice with Fiasco. Having kept track of number of rounds – it's not that hard when there's only seven in total – I knew it was empty. Splitting the gun into half, I removed the revolving chamber and inserted another pre-loaded chamber inside. They were all tranquilizers though; I had not prepared any other types of bullets in my preemptive chambers. It was a decision I was deeply regretting at the moment. No matter how many Grimm we manage to capture, if we died in the process, they are worth jackshit to us.

Another swipe came from my left, forcing me to dodge. If I didn't make room soon, the blasted beowolves were going to box us in. I produced a smoke grenade and primed it. Fiasco roared seven times, blessing the nearest seven beowolves with its indiscriminate love. Then I tossed the grenade.

I had timed it perfectly, of course. Years of using these grenades made me well aware how long their fuses lasted. Soon after it left my hand, the grenade detonated and engulfed the area. The opaque smoke filled my vision, hiding Weiss and me from the Grimm's view. Furthermore, my smoke grenades overloaded olfactory senses with its thick smell. For those especially gifted with a sensitive nose, the effect was worse. How did I knew this? Because I have used these grenades on faunus before.

With the time I bought, we could escape and regroup. I began searching for Weiss, relying on my sense of hearing. I really wished I had my visor; locating her with thermal vision would have been cake. As it happened, however, the very reason why I could not use the visor was the person I was currently trying to find in the smoke. Oh, Fortune, you and your tendency to make jokes out of my life.

Never bitch to Fortune about how bad your life is, she can always make it worse. As I was painstakingly looking for the heiress, a wave of flame sprouted from somewhere in the smoke and swept it all away with its heat. Not only did it almost scorch me, it exposed the two of us to the hostile beowolves in the area.

'What the hell are you doing?' She demanded, looking annoyed.

'Me? I should be the one asking that. We could have escaped under the smoke!'

'How can we escape if we can't see?' She snapped.

This might have become another addition in the series of arguments we've been having today if it wasn't for the beowolves. They threw themselves at us like a school of piranhas. There was no time to reload – revolvers took way too long – so I kept the gun and brought out my knives. I grimaced; I really did not like close quarters. Not for the first time, I wished I had a semblance more useful in a fistfight.

Enough time for lamentations later; concentration was survival. Another beowolf was coming for me. I let it bite my vambrace, fully confident it could withstand a mere jaw strength of the humanoid beast. It took the bait, giving me time to stab its throat and open it up. Well, that was one down. Only about... uhm... I'll say twenty-two more to go. I loaded Fiasco, this time with more lethal bullets.

A slash stretched across my back, shallow but painful. I reacted by firing upon my assaulter, opening up a hole in its head. Damn it. I needed to watch my surroundings more and the inner monologue was probably not helping me concentrate. I backed away, only to almost run straight into the open claws of another beowolf. Before my mistake turned fatal, I twisted myself away.

I wiped the perspiration on my palms. This was quite the pickle I had gotten myself into. Fighting them head on was out of question; that kind of a thing was possible only for people like Alex. The prudent thing to do would be to bail. However, before I could do that, I needed to get Weiss.

Avoiding engaging with beowolves, I scanned the battlefield for the girl in white. It wasn't hard to find her, her attire lit like a beacon in the darkness of the night. What was hard was reaching her. She was in the thick of the pack and they were all dying to kill her – somewhat literally.

Two beowolves leapt for her. They approached her from both sides, not giving her room to dodge either way. Unfazed, she produced a glyph and launched herself into the air. Then Myrtenaster glowed with yellow before she shot down towards one, impaling it before it could react. Dexterously, she pulled free the rapier and ran it through the second without hesitation.

Four more were converging on her. The revolving chamber at the centre of Myrtenaster glowed to a light blue. With a flick, a curtain of ice trapped two of them. Without wasting a moment, the chamber changed color again to red. Another flick shot forth a jet of fire. It swept towards the remaining beowolves but one of them managed to dodge in time. It then rushed upon her.

She gave another swing with her now reverted-to-white rapier. A glyph formed in front of the attacking beowolf, blocking its lunge. The glyph vanished instantly after the deflection and before it could recover, she stabbed it in the chest.

Damn, she was good. She might not be overwhelmingly strong like Alex or agile as Lestia but she was strong in a more ordinary way. She had an accuracy in her fighting style that granted efficiency to her strokes. Her movements were crisp, her attacks economic and her evades exemplary. In fact, her precise footwork and clear cut offense sort of reminded me of Circe, if I ignored the fact that the latter never fought with a sword. Those two were extremely similar, I thought.

It might be good to keep this particular opinion to myself.

Still no matter how good, she wasn't Alex or Lestia. There was only so much she could do alone. For each she killed, two more bound forward to have a go. I needed to help; how was the question. The best way to control a hostile crowd was with a grenade, of course. The tricky part was not getting Weiss injured from the blast. That took any form of lethal grenades out of the question. I mentally browsed through my list of possibilities.

This one will have to do. Weiss will not be happy about this. I pulled out the most powerful stink bomb in my arsenal. I smirked; she was definitely not going to be happy.

Frankly speaking, I hated this grenade. I only kept it because it was the simplest way to incapacitate enemies with superior sense of smell, such as faunus – trust me on this, I have plethora of incidents to prove this. I assumed it would be just as effective against beowolves, if not more so. With this firm conviction, I tossed it into the Grimm pack. Before its detonation, I wore the miniature gas respirator I always carried around.

Holy shit, she actually screamed. I forgot how nasty that thing was even to humans. However, the beowolves were in total disarray, so I had no regrets. I raced into the rapidly fleeing group of Grimm and headed for the girl. Taking in a deep breath, I pulled out my gas respirator and shoved it into her mouth. If she knew what was good for her, she would keep that in. Not willing to wait around for my breath to run out, I dragged her and made off in the general direction opposite of where the beowolves ran.

Thank goodness that was over. We regrouped by a rather large tree and plopped down exhausted.

'That was outrageously awful,' were her first words once she was finally able to speak. I thought it summed up the situation quite well.

'Don't mention it.'

She glanced at the unconscious beowolves. 'How many did we get?'

I shrugged, 'about thirteen. A lot ran away from the stench,' I stretched my sore muscles. 'Whew. I've never seen so many beowolves together.'

'Me neither. I never thought I would feel threatened by beowolves before.'

'That's some pampered life you've had then. It's a risk people who have no home in sanctuaries face all the time.'

She frowned at my criticism. 'Look Balthazar,' there was a firm quality in her words, as if she wanted to tell me something. It made me listen seriously. 'We got off the wrong foot. You shouldn't have stolen my apple.' Now I was frowning. Noticing my expression, she raised her hand to halt my argument. 'Hear me out. I also was not at the best behavior during our interactions. Why don't we just stop bickering? Let the bygones be bygones,' she offered.

I'll be honest. Of all things I expected her to say, this was not one of them. I took a moment to digest what I've just heard. Then I laughed. It wasn't the giggly sort neither; I was laughing out loud.

Of course, she did not take the laughter well. 'You find this funny?' Uh oh. She might get genuinely offended if I did not explain myself.

I shook my hand maniacally. 'No! It's not that. I'm sorry if the laughter offended you. I'm just... I just never expected you to be so... mature, if you can pardon my saying so. You're a much bigger person than I am. I really didn't expect that. I always assumed you were pampered, considering your background.'

A confused expression surfaced, as if she was considering taking offense or taking it well. In the end, it seemed she chose to take my comments as compliment. 'Excuse me, I refuse to be called immature while on same team as Ruby. Take that back.' I could see she was no longer upset.

'Yeah, yeah. I take it back. And I accept your offer. Team?' I offered my hand with a smile.

'I guess that's acceptable.' She stretched to take it.

A rustle from the side. As one, our weapons appeared. It seemed that our welcoming committee was not done with us. Somewhere in the distance, an almighty howl resonated in the air.

Well then, time to greet the hosts of the party.

-x-x-x-x-

There are a lot of beowolves in this damn forest. Compared to this place, the Emerald Forest was barren of Grimm. We slayed and slayed but their numbers refused to decline. I didn't need to be a genius to know how this was going to end if the attacks continued.

'How many beowolves can you handle on your own?' I asked. We were back to back, covering each other's blind spots. The ferocious glares from the beowolves bore into us savagely.

Her replies came amidst the lulls in the fight. 'About five to seven. I think a bit more if I concentrate. Why?' I felt her move. An agonized howl followed soon after.

'I think we should split up. I'll draw off a coup...' another one came for me, interrupting my words. I dispatched it with a shot to the chest and a stab in the throat. The blade was embedded too deeply for me to retrieve the knife. Damn it; I was getting low on the knives count too. The situation was getting worse by the second. 'As I was saying, I'll draw most them and you can get rid of the rest.'

She didn't take make suggestion seriously. 'Do you listen to yourself? You're not telling me you can fight off most of these beowolves alone, are you?'

'Who said anything about fighting them? I'm going to ditch them.' Another pair of them was inching too close for comfort. I kept my eyes on them especially as I reloaded Fiasco.

'This is their forest, you know. They're at the advantage at their home ground. I don't think you can lose them.'

Despite the serious situation, I chuckled. 'Princess. Do you know how hard it is to find me if I don't want to be found?'

She answered with a curt 'yes.' Oh yeah. There was that apple incident. I guess she really did know. Her next words held a trace of irritation, probably because she was recalling that exact incident. 'Fine, you can try your method.'

'Meet back here once we're both done?'

'Don't keep me waiting.'

'Aye, aye. Princess,' I promised. If everything went according to plan, there was no reason it would take long anyway. I darted through the beasts, making sure to grab as many of their attentions as possible. Time to play the pied piper with these bestial children.

-x-x-x-x-

It felt like such a good idea at the start. The thing is, I had underestimated how fast these things were in the forest. Or how numerous. Or how tenacious. My lungs felt like it housed a colony of hornets. Thank goodness I was good at running or I would have become wolf chow long ago.

I was running like my life depended on it. It was like one of those movie scenes where the wimpy guy was getting chased by the mindless zombies, if you can imagine the beowolves as the mindless corpses. I didn't like comparing myself to those wimpy guys though. Actually, now that I thought about it, didn't those wimpy guys always get killed in the end? Ugh, I did not like where my train of thought was taking me.

A snarl from behind informed me of impending attack. I was just barely fast enough to evade that one. Time to refocus my attention in escaping. A galloping pack at your heel was a great way to get your mind off distractions.

I did have a plan, of course. With Weiss out of the way, I now had the leeway to use whichever grenade I wanted. Beowolves didn't seem to be particularly resistant against my grenades' effects any more than humans and faunus were. That gave me quite a few options.

This should be far enough, I thought. My hand went for a particular grenade. Oh, I've seldom got to use this one before. I checked that the respirator was firmly in place, then brought out the sleeping gas grenade and pulled its pin. The prospect of using it was making me bubbly with excitement.

You see, it's awfully inconvenient to use a sleeping gas grenade against humans or faunus. Even though it wasn't lethal, it was considered harmful so if the authorities were to detect traces of it in the crime scene, there would always be extra effort in the investigation. Most of the time, it was much more worth it to just chuck a flashbang; no lingering residue for the police to get all anxious about.

But sleeping gas on beowolves? That was a fair game.

As the beasts swarmed closer, I let go of the bomb, counting down to its detonation. The reddish-green gas quickly engulfed the area. The world drowned in it, the tranquilizing mist swallowing all its inhabitants. It enveloped everything; the trees, the earth and the puny creatures of flesh. I reconfirmed that the respirator was firmly in place. This stuff was potent; if I fell under its effect, I would be out for a long while.

From within the gas cloud came the sound of bodies hitting the floor. The gas must be working. About time too, I was worried it for a second there. All I had to do now was to sit tight and wait for the whole mess to end.

Eventually the noises stopped. All was silent around me, only sound the rustling of vegetation under my feet. So it was over at last. All that was left was to clear the mess. If left alone, the sleeping gas would stay in this place for hours – it was denser than most gas and therefore diffused slowly.

As I usually did, I had a grenade to solve this problem. It was what I called a tempest-nade. As the name indicates, it was a grenade which releases a strong gush of wind upon detonation. It was mostly harmless, as long as you stayed outside the epicenter of its area of effect. But then again, that could be said for all explosives, couldn't it? I was going to find a place to hide first. Once I found a tree looking sturdy enough, I tossed the tempest-nade and braced myself. Even so, the detonation almost tore my grip from my anchor.

Well, at least the air was now clear. As I expected, a horde of unconscious beowolf pack carpeted the ground. Man, this felt good. There must be a couple dozen here. I didn't know how long the sleeping gas could sedate these things so I should shoot them all with the tranquilizers Melanis got for me.

As I got around tagging my catches each with a bullet, I noticed something at the corner of my eye. Amid the fallen bodies of the Grimm, it stood out like a sore thumb; a rather disturbingly familiar sore thumb. It was utterly dazzling in its whiteness, harshly in contrast to the darkness of the night. I felt my breath quicken; I was starting to panic. And why wouldn't I? After all, it seemed that my partner, Weiss Schnee, was rendered unconscious by the sleeping gas.

Fuck my life, seriously.

Really? After all that effort to make sure I could use whatever I wanted to without affecting, this happens? Ugh. Why doesn't anything ever go easily for me? Sigh. No use mopping, as Harmony used to say. Nobody's interested in a sob story except on a television. If Fortune dealt me with this, I had no choice but to just make lemonade out of the situation.

I examined Weiss. Her pulse seemed normal, nothing erratic. It looked like there was no complication of being knocked out by the grenade. Thank goodness for that. Now, the problem was deciding on what to do. I could try to force her awake – I did have something to that effect – but the method wasn't really reliable; I wished to avoid it if possible. The prudent thing to do was to simply call for help.

I switched on the radio transceiver. 'This is Balthazar speaking. Anyone around, over?'

The response was immediate, _'Oberon's throne, Balthazar. Why the hell was your radio off, over?' _I recognized the incensed voice as Alex's.

Oops, the truth was that I had forgotten to switch it back on when Weiss confronted me about asking for direction just now. From the urgent manner Alex was speaking, something must have happened. 'We had a small incident since then. What's the matter, over?'

_'Your location is the matter, you moron. I watched whatever you've sent me and matched the place with the map. That place is bad news, Balthazar, over.'_

'Why? What's wrong with this place, over?'

_'Is there an unusually high amount of beowolves there, over?' _His question sent a shiver down my spine.

'Yes.'

_'Damn it. I was hoping I was wrong.' _ I heard him mutter.

'Tell me, Alex. What is wrong with this place, over?'

_'Look, start getting the hell out as you listen,' _I would have if I could have but a certain unconscious teammate rendered the task rather difficult to accomplish,_ 'that place is a haven for beowolves. They are especially vicious and territorial, attacking even other Grimm who venture too deep. Not even Death Stalkers or King Taijitus go there. That place is bad news, over.'_

I found that a bit hard to swallow. 'Not even other Grimm? That's hard to believe, over.'

_'I know it sounds unbelievable but trust me, I know what I'm saying. There's a beowolf there with a bounty on it, Balthazar. You know what that means, don't you?' _I did, and I was not happy to hear it.

'How many?' I asked.

He picked up immediately on what I was asking. _'At least seventy-two confirmed kills. Four of them were hunters sent to hunt it. This one's apparently very familiar with how deadly humans weapons are. Reports say it's very wary of people and that's why it's hard to kill.'_ This was bad. According to Alex, there was a beowolf in the vicinity which had successfully killed full-fledged hunters before.

A Grimm with a bounty was nothing to scoff at. Although people like Melanis may mention them lightly, they were serious issues. If you thought about it, the fact that these monsters were able to obtain identities among its peers was commendable, or terrifying – depending on how you looked at it. Only the most wretched of the creatures were given such recognition.

Grimm with bounty had been a topic covered by Professor Peter Port a few weeks back. When I say covered, I meant his boasting about how impressive he was for having killed so many of these in his youth; you know, typical Professor Port stuff. However, in between the self-worship, he did go about how deadly these things were. The statistics and case studies were alarming. Here's one of the alarming facts; around the world, the number of people being killed by Grimm with bounty is easily twice the number of those killed by mundane ones. Considering only about five percentage of the whole Grimm population gets a bounty, you can tell just how much damage these things were doing. All in all, Grimm with bounty were bad news.

'What's this one called?' All Grimm with bounties had names.

_'Lycan,' _Alex told me.

As if on cue, an almighty roar ripped the sky apart, making me flinch in surprise. Answering howls rose, pale in comparison to the first but threatening in its sheer numbers. There indeed were many beowolves in these woods. 'I gotta go, over.'

_'Do you need reinforcement, over?'_ I thought about it. Surprisingly, my first thought that occurred at the offer was how much Weiss would hate the idea. I really was starting to see her as my partner.

'No. I can handle this, over,' despite all logic, I uttered these words. I could already feel the giggles of Fortune regarding the rash decision. The regrets were already preparing themselves, ready to pounce me at any notice.

Alex was not the sort to insist. _'Get out safe, over and out.' _I was alone in this forest but for a bloodthirsty pack of monsters with a highly dangerous one in their lead and an unconscious girl to protect. Well, there was something I could do about the heiress.

All denizens of the undermarket were self-taught in medicine to varying degrees. For us, who might not be able to afford legitimate medical care due to financial or circumstantial reasons, it was imperative to learn how to keep ourselves alive in sticky situations. I had my fair share of close shaves in the past and had adequate medical knowledge to justify surviving those scenarios. In my kit, there were some items of life preservation that I could use to wake Weiss.

I pulled out a packet of powder from my pack and checked the label: **No Rest for the Wicked**. Yup, this was the right one. On top of my palm was the most potent smelling salts I had at my disposal, designed to be able to override every anesthetic equipment on me. The stuff kicked like mule but in other words, that meant at least it got the job done. I probably wasn't going to be earning thanks using this on her, but then neither would I be letting a beowolf chew on her.

The body's reaction was instant. With a cough and choking sounds, she was up. Confused and woozy but up, nonetheless. I shook her to gather her focus on me; it was helpful to provide a focal point to those who just emerged from unconsciousness. 'Weiss, look at me. Can you understand?' Her face was a mess, thanks to the powerful stimulant. With a handkerchief, I wiped the tears that trailed down. 'Look, we got to move. There's a Grimm with a bounty nearby. It's called Lycan, it has seventy-two kills under its belt and it's not something I wanted to be acquainted with in this lifetime or next. Come on,' I pulled her to her feet and held her as she wavered, 'pull yourself together,' I commanded.

The glare she shot at the command informed me she was back in business, despite her appearance insisting otherwise. 'Ugh. What was that?' She seemed as if she wanted to vomit.

I explained concisely, 'that was my smelling salt. It hits like a kicker for awhile but there won't be any permanent effects. Just try to ignore it.'

'Wha... what happened just now?' She took a moment to gather herself before continuing, 'I was following your path after taking care of the beowolves but then there was smoke everywhere.' Her question made me squirm uncomfortably.

'That's not important,' I covered up. I passed the handkerchief so that she could clean up by herself, 'Lycan's nearby. We need to leave.'

Weiss frowned, as if in pain. She massaged her forehead. 'Wait, slow down a moment. This is all so very confusing.'

Frustration welled up within me; we did not have time for this. 'Please, Weiss. We won't live to see the morning if we stay here. I know everything's confusing but you've gotta trust me, okay? We need to leav...' In the backdrop of the moonlight, on top of a small mound not too far away, a silhouette of a beowolf caught my eye. A massive beowolf. A colossal, gargantuan beowolf. Okay, maybe I exaggerated a bit with colossal and gargantuan. However, it was definitely massive.

The monstrous thing ripped the air apart with a howl. Weiss gave a startled yelp at its roar and turned to see the creature. 'That Lycan?' She asked, a slight tremble in her voice.

'I'm gonna say yes,' I replied. As we watched, it jumped down from the hill in our direction. Out of the moon's rays, it disappeared from our view. Still, I didn't need to be rocket scientist to know where it was heading. I grabbed her hand and began dragging the stupefied girl. 'We need to go,' I pressed.

We fled in the opposite direction. I made sure Weiss stayed ahead of me, making sure Lycan would not get a chance to jump on her. It wasn't chivalry. Predatory beasts always went for the weaker prey, which happened to be Weiss at the moment. By having her harder to be attacked, it would give me a second or two more reaction time if we were caught.

An idea occurred to me; I should impede its progress with some grenades in our wake. Although mines would have been the optimal choice in this situation, I did not have mines – a correction I should consider if I ever survived this ordeal. Not dwelling on the matter longer, I did the best I could in the circumstance and dropped some combinations of explosives which I thought would be most effective at delaying our pursuer.

Even with all my efforts, when the attack actually happened, I was barely able to do anything. It was intimidating just how fast it was. From the thickets, it burst forth, its claws outstretched. As I had expected, it lunged for my partner, aware who was the easier target. Weiss was yet unaware of its presence.

Not on my watch, you piece of shit. I sprinted to intercept, my legs pumping away. Nothing loaded into Fiasco had the stopping power to halt it so it wasn't going to help me. My knives might have done it with an appropriate bomb pellet but the chance of me hitting Lycan with my throw were close to zero. My grenades weren't going to cut it either; whatever was strong enough hurt the beowolf would injure Weiss in its blast and whatever that wouldn't hurt Weiss wasn't going to take down Lycan. Regretfully, that left me only one option.

I placed myself between the canine juggernaut and the girl in white, faced the incoming juggernaut and braced for impact.

If anyone of you ever got bludgeoned by a freight train, you would have an idea how it felt like. I flew, crashing painfully against a tree trunk. The wind was knocked out of me, and I think I actually broke something.

'Balthazar!' Weiss yelled with concern. Idiot, now was not the time to be distracted by anything. Well, I guess that applied to me too. I forced myself up despite my body's vehement protest at the prospect. At least it wasn't my legs that were broken; otherwise, Balthazar's story would have ended right there and then.

'Keep moving,' I instructed before following my own advice. Weiss blocked a few swipes from Lycan with her glyphs before infusing Myrtenaster with yellow dust. Speed! Yes, that was good. That should at least let her stay ahead of the beowolf's clutches for awhile. Now all I needed to worry about was my own survival. No pressure.

But then again, who am I? I am Balthazar "Breaker" Venarius. I may not be the strongest around or the fastest around, but I was definitely the best one at running away. Needless to say, I did have an escape plan.

I waited for Weiss to get ahead of me. To my irritation, she paused as she passed by me. Holy crap, I needed her out of here. 'Go! Don't worry about me, I have a plan!' My expression must have been really intense because after taking one look at my face, she complied without any argument. Then she was gone.

Now, for my own escape. I rummaged through my bag and grabbed what I was looking for. Despite the seriousness of the situation, a corner of my heart ached at the thought of the lien replacing this gear would cost me. Survival over wealth, Balthazar. Dead man spends no cash. With all hesitations dealt with, I pulled out a couple of decoy-nades.

Decoy-nades were grenades that produced holographic images programmed into them upon detonation. Currently, the images programmed were of me in various motions. There was even a small AI in these things to ensure the hologram's actions were as realistic as possible. As it can be imagined, the tech involved was expensive. If it wasn't for the fact that my life was hanging on the balance, I wouldn't be using them.

It took me less than a second to prime them before tossing them overhead. Of course, the holograms by themselves probably wouldn't be enough; the damn thing could smell me, after all. For a good measure, I chucked a few smoke grenades and stink bombs. With my scent masked, hopefully the only way for the beowolf to search for me was by sight.

A howl from behind sounded more frustrated than usual. Although it hurt to smile – it hurt to do anything with my body at the moment – I still looked back to gloat. What I saw made me regret it. The bloody thing was seeking out the grenades and destroying it. This must be what Alex meant when he said Lycan was familiar with human weapons. It definitely knew the grenades were causing the illusions somehow. At the rate it was going, the amount of time I had bought was lesser than I initially thought. Nothing's ever easy, is it?

I ran like hell.

-x-x-x-x-

End of the line, it seemed. Before me was the most intimidating beast I've seen in my seventeen odd years. Behind me was a cliff overlooking a river. Who knew my life would ever become so dramatic, like a scene from a movie.

I was such a fool. As I made my escape, I had kept up the belief that if I extracted myself from Lycan's field of vision it would start chasing after Weiss. What was I thinking? It had completely skipped my mind that after that business I had with the tree trunk, I was now more injured of the two. Instead of keeping myself on the edge of its radar, I should have focused on running away when I had the chance. Now the chance was gone, and that was a mistake that might cost me dearly, even fatally.

It was glowering at me, as if aware I had no route to escape. Mocking, jeering. Well, I was never the one to take those well, even from those much stronger.

There had been so many times in my previous career when I almost died. Overly-eager security guards, facility sabotage gone wrong, unforeseen circumstances of disastrous misfortune, I've seen them all. As you might have realised, I have survived through them. The how was simple; I judged the options for the higher chance of survival and took it without hesitation.

Right now, I had better chance in the river. So what do I do?

I jumped.

-x-x-x-x-

**AN: You know, I thought breaking up the arc would lessen the word counts per chpt. Not really, apparently. Oh well. **

**Originally I was hoping to break this arc into 2 chpt – meaning I was supposed to be finishing the arc with this chpt. Nope. Apparently not happening.**

**Also, grenade everything. I realised Balthazar is abysmally weak against Grimm. Haha. He lives on my sufferance. Muhahahaha. Hopefully when he starts fighting people, he wouldn't be so wimpy.**

**Well that's everything.**

**Oh special thx to DamagedGlasses for the great villain idea. Thx to him, I can finally materialilze the main villain more or less completely.**

**And extra special thx to Armyx since he's the reason my writing improves.**

**Well that's all for now, folks. Cheers.**


	11. Chapter 11: A Hunter's Duty: part 3

**DISCLAIMER: Those that ought to belong to others shall belong to their respective owners. Those that ought to belong to me, if any, shall belong to me.**

**AN: Do you what can make a slower update than a lazy author? A lazy author and a laptop that decide to crash.**

**For those who guessed it correctly, you all get a virtual cookie and a pat on the head. Well done.**

**Right. I'll let you get onto reading then. The guilty shld STFU.**

-x-x-x-x-

A Hunter's Duty: part 3

Ow. I doubt I'll ever get used to being kicked in the kidneys. Before I could properly ward off the agony, another kick rammed into the back right on my spine and deprived me of feelings of my legs for a split second. Before the feelings even returned, another kick caught me on the side of my head, bypassing the momentarily lax defence put up by my arms. Stars shone in my vision, shining brightly and confusing my senses. Sadly, the pain didn't seem to lessen with the confusion. I grimaced as another kick caught me in the side again.

'Think you're all that, huh, Breaker?' Igniter launched his foot into my abdomen to drive his point. 'Which part of "kill everyone in the household" do you not understand?' another kick. 'That was a fucking assassination contract. What makes you so damn great that you don't have to follow orders?' There was a pause, gratefully, as Igniter stomped off. A moment later, my relieved feelings disappeared as I heard a protesting girl's voice. She yelped as he tossed her to the ground by my side.

'You even brought to the den one of the faunus there! Fuck you.' This particular kick was especially vicious. I tasted iron in my mouth – a fact which was rather alarming because it wasn't my mouth he was kicking.

I was not a guy who knew when to keep my mouth shut, however. If I felt a point needed to be raised, I raised it. 'She was captured there. They were going to sell her. Killing her wasn't necessa…' My head snapped back as Igniter landed a spin kick to the chin. The girl squealed. Okay, this time the taste of blood was definitely from my mouth.

'Never know when to shut your trap, eh, Breaker?' He grabbed my collar and pulled me to my feet. 'Well, by the time I'm done with you, you won't be able to…' What he planned do to me I'll never know because at that moment another voice severed Igniter's words.

'Won't be able to what, exactly?' It was softly spoken, almost possible to mistaken as kindly if not for its cold quality. My stomach squirmed in fear and awe, as it always did in the presence of this man.

Igniter's grip loosened and I collapsed to the ground. 'Sir. I… I wasn't aware you were here.' He was stuttering, a feeling I could understand.

'Never mind all that, boy. Just answer the question; what won't Breaker be able to do? Would he be unable to work? To contribute to this little community of merry band?' Although the words were casual, the tone was not. The atmosphere was thick. I could see cold sweat breaking over Igniter.

'Sir, I ne… never meant to…'

'No, I'm sure you didn't; your actions generally tend to lack mental planning as a whole,' he remarked. He raised his hand, causing Igniter to flinch. The hand simply rested on the shoulder of the younger man. 'Now, listen here, Igniter. You may be leading this team of assassins but the people you lead are not yours to treat as you see fit,' the grip tightened to presumably painful levels. 'They are mine. My investments. There is disciplining and then there is damaging,' Igniter was now struggling to remain in the man's grip. 'Do you understand?' he asked.

'Yes, Maker, sir,' Igniter barely managed. With those words, Maker released the boy.

'Splendid. Now, off with you. I shall speak to Breaker and his new girlfriend.' The declaration terrified me to the core. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Igniter suppressing his glee at the turn of the events as he left us.

I pushed myself off the floor gingerly. 'Maker, sir.' A swift backlash reunited me with the embrace of the floor.

'You stupid moron,' he commented. Well, it didn't look like there was going to be a follow up blow, so I pushed myself from ground again. I stole a glance and Maker's face and deduced that although he was pissed, he wasn't going to strike me again. 'You're a constant source of fresh headaches, Breaker. I put you in an assassination contract for the first time and you screw things up already.' He glared at the girl by my side – who, despite trembling, stared back.

Fearing her staring might offend him, I tried to divert his attention to me. 'I found her in the mansion. She was held caged so I figured she wasn't part of the family. I didn't want her to raise an alarm so I forcibly made her follow me.' It was hard to convince her initially but once she realised that there were other assassins in the building and they weren't as likely to offer a route to remain alive, she had no choice but to comply.

'So you went on with your assignment with a witness on the tow? An eye to watch and a mouth to talk?' The disapproval was clear.

'I… I was confident I could subdue a lone girl.' I felt pinpricks from my behind and guessed the said girl was shooting daggers at me.

'Maybe you could, but why take a risk?'

'I'm sorry, sir. However, the contract only asked for death of Remington household. There was no need for unrelated person to be killed.'

He rubbed his forehead. 'Yes. It's true we were only required to kill the Remington and his family. There was no need to kill-' he shot a look at the girl again- 'this faunus. However, that doesn't change the fact that it would have been much easier if you just killed her along with them anyway.' I felt her stiffen behind me as he casually recommended her death.

'Sir… I… I can't do that,' I started weakly, 'killing the targets are hard enough, I don't know if I can simply kill the bystanders just to have it easy.'

'You can't have qualms killing those in your way if you're an assassin, Breaker. Even if those people are only there by chance.' He advised matter-of-factly

I thought through his words before saying, 'maybe I'm not cut out to be an assassin, sir.' I closed my eyes and prepared myself for a blow. It had been Maker's decision to put me into an assassination team, and I have just openly claimed that his decision had been a wrong one.

To my surprise, the blow I predicted did not come. Mustering courage, I looked at him again. There was no indication of anger on his face. In fact, he was deep in contemplation. I felt the girl shift behind me and took a look. We exchanged worried glances, wondering what Maker's silence was supposed to mean. Still, neither of us was stupid enough to hasten a man who had the power to determine our fate. We simply waited.

'How old are you, Breaker?' he asked suddenly.

The sudden change in subject took me by surprise so it was a moment before I answered, 'twelve, sir.' Upon my answer, he began to tap his finger rhythmically on the surface of the table by his side. It was a habit he had whenever he was planning something. The fact that it was occurring now worried me greatly. It went on for a good while, each stroke grating away my mental calm like a shredder.

Without a warning, the tapping abruptly ceased. 'There are times I feel I should have just left you on the streets four years back.' Well, that wasn't an encouraging start. 'But then, if I had done so, I guess my life wouldn't be as interesting, now would it?' I liked these words much more. 'Wipe that stupid smirk off your face.' Okay, that was just embarrassing.

'Be serious, Breaker. This is a grave matter,' he chided. 'It irks me, Breaker, that you do not wish to be an assassin. Your semblance is a rarity, capable of rendering any amount of security and defence put up by the target obsolete. Nobody would be out of your reach, should you wish it. However, despite all this, you would rather be a petty thief.' He gave me a piercing look. 'That is what you aspire to be, isn't it?'

'Not so much on the petty, sir, but thief is correct,' I answered.

'Thought as much. Well, an assassin who doesn't have heart in it is an assassin who dies young. I may as well pull you out of the assassin team. From today onwards, you shall be the leader of Heist Team A.' My delight at being told I would be removed from assassin team was short-lived, wiped out by the burden of being a team leader. I can't be a team leader!

I tried to protest, 'sir, you canno…'

'Breaker, are you questioning my decision?' That swiftly brought me to my reality. Maker's words were law.

'No sir,' I submitted. Then a question occurred, 'sir, what happened to Harvest?' Harvest was the previous team leader of Heist Team A.

A savage smile formed on his lips; his eyes, on the other hand, was anything but smiling. 'Word on the street is that one of the leaders was distributing Rainbow Ruin to the people. Well, I can assure you she met her maker.' Ah. Maker hated Rainbow Ruin, an addictive and highly deteriorating drug. He only had one policy for its manufacturers and distributers: death. Nobody would be seeing Harvest anymore. 'Well then, I take my leave, Breaker,' he turned around, heading for the doorway. Before he left though, he stated, 'you shall be responsible for that faunus you picked up; she's now part of Heist Team A.'

Then he was gone, leaving me to pick up the pieces of my drastically altered life.

-x-x-x-x-

I woke up from unconsciousness and it wasn't a pleasant experience. There was a vile odor crammed up my nose. Tears and mucus were everywhere. I couldn't see since it hurt to open my eyes. My attempts to breathe were futile at first. Only moments later could I accomplish the task, albeit with great discomfort.

There was no doubt in my mind that I was under the effect of No Rest for the Wicked, the smelling salt I carried around.

By the Remnant, it was nasty. Not only was my nose feeling like it was tread on by a stampede of boarbatusks, I had a ringing headache. The flashback of my past didn't help either; I did not like recalling those days. The only place past had in my life was in the past.

I tried to reach for my handkerchief to wipe my face, only to realise that it wasn't there. Nothing ever goes my way, does it?

'Here. Take this,' a girl's voice offered, pushing me a piece of clothing. Although I couldn't see it properly, its familiar texture told me this was my handkerchief. I gratefully began to clean up myself. It wasn't an easy task but I achieved it eventually.

'Ugh Remnant, that was nasty.' How had this happened? For No Rest for the Wicked to have been used on me, I must have been knocked out hard. I couldn't remember how I had gotten unconsciousness.

'Are you alright?' the girl inquired. Although I could not see very well, I could tell she was clad in white. And that she was pretty. Well, not pretty precisely. Her features felt too sharp for that. Hmm. Definitely attractive though. There was a scar running down one of her eyes; how intriguing. It looked like a knife wound of sorts. It was mesmerizing. I reached out and traced the injury. 'Balthazar?' she spoke again, half startled, half worried.

Then the memories of what happened before flooded back, I remembered the airship, the air drop, the beowolves and Lycan. My mind woke up in a flash, as if struck by a bolt of lightning. I survived jumping off the cliff!

Then I understood what I've just done with Weiss and embarrassment overwhelmed me in full force. 'What the hell am I doing?' I exclaimed as I retracted my hand from her face with haste. Pain coursed through all of my body, especially in my left arm. 'Ow, ow ow. Ouch, this hurts.

'Be careful, the bandages are barely holding you together. You need to get proper medical attention.' True enough, almost every part of my exposed body was wrapped up in bandages. I tested out every part of my body to assess the damage. My left arm was quite badly injured. I think a few of my ribs could do with care as well. However, my other three limbs and my head seemed to be operational – which was a relief since they were the things that were going to keep me alive for now.

The brand of the bandages caught my eye. 'Holy crap, Pygmalion medibands? Weiss, these things cost a fortune!' It was not a hyperbole either. Pygmalion Foundation was the greatest medical corporation in the world, capable of curing, healing, fixing and saving people from conditions the rest of the world would have sworn were death sentences. They made up for their miracles with extravagant prices. In the undermarket, Pygmalion products were one of the most desirable items, with people literally killing to get their hands on the merchandise.

She seemed a bit proud, 'I can afford it.' In retrospect, of course she could. Pygmalion Foundation might be big but it was nowhere Schnee Dust Company big. 'Are you okay now?' I noticed she was keeping some distance, as if unsure whether I would bite or something. Then I recalled my actions.

Gods, this was embarrassing. Why did I do that? My face was burning red – something that had not occurred in a long while. Sure, all I did was to caress her face but... ugh, did I really do that? I did, didn't I? I wished I could just evaporate into the air. 'Other than wishing to die from embarrassment, I seem to be in working order,' I replied miserably.

'Oh.' She seemed a bit lost of words, not sure how to keep up the conversation.

Sooner I changed the subject, the better. 'Are we still in danger? Is Lycan nearby?' From the way she wasn't so tense, I could guess we were somewhat safe but I asked the question anyway.

Weiss seemed a bit relieved at the change of subject. 'No, we lost him after you jumped the river. It followed you down but couldn't reach you through the currents.'

Wait what? 'It did what?'

'It jumped down after you when you leapt off the cliff. It must really dislike you.'

'Is it dead?' I asked, not hoping for much.

'No. It's still alive. I saw it reach the river bank on the other side.' Well, I knew it was too much for hope for. 'The interesting thing is; when it got to the bank, it encountered a few ursas and started attacking them.' That was interesting indeed. I recalled what Alex said about how there were no other Grimm in Lycan's territory. It seems its animosity was directed towards other species of Grimm as well.

I was about to discuss our next course of action when another wave of tears clouded my vision. Damn that smelling salt. I wiped with my handkerchief again. 'I hate this thing,' I muttered.

'It did look nasty,' she commented. 'Did I look that bad?'

'Yours was far worse. I cringe at the memory.'

'You're lying, aren't you?'

'Well, if you aren't gonna believe me, I'm not gonna waste my words.'

There was a momentarily pause. 'Was it really that bad?' she asked anxiously.

'If you want, I can send you a picture' I teased.

And all of a sudden, I had a freaking rapier aimed at my throat. 'You have a picture?' she did not seem amused.

Me and my big mouth. While I didn't have a picture exactly, my video recorder would have been running when I attended to Weiss just now. There was no doubt I had captured shots of her in state of disarray. 'Uhm, sort of? My camera runs throughout everything.'

'Delete it!' she demanded. That Myrtenaster was getting too close for comfort.

'Alright, alright! Sheesh.' Well, this was annoying. It looked as if I'll have to erase the whole footage. Without proper editing equipment, there was no way I could selectively delete the part with Weiss in tears. 'This is no way to treat a patient,' I complained as I connected my camera to my scroll and ran the program.

However, the program was unresponsive. Huh. I tried again, thinking maybe the two devices weren't properly attached. Same result. I tried several times, all to no avail.

Weiss witnessed this and asked, 'what's going on?'

'I think my camera is broken.' It must have happened during my plunge into the river.

'Then what about that picture?'

'Well, the memory was stored internally. If the camera's bust, I doubt anything's inside now.' The fact that one of my gears wasn't functional did not make me happy at all. I began sorting through all my equipment.

'Why did you video tape the mission anyway?' Her tone was lighter now. I checked Fiasco first. It was a simple and reliable gun; there wasn't any issue with it.

'I do it for all my operations. It's a good way to keep track of what actually happened, instead of basing everything on memory.' All my grenades seemed okay; they did make them out of sturdier stuff, after all. It's a bad idea to have explosives that are not durable.

'You sound as if you've had a lot of real mission experience,' Weiss observed. Her observation made me freeze for a second. Damn, I was getting careless. I resumed my inspection, so as to ensure she would not notice anything amiss.

'What makes you say that?' My respirator was still in optimal condition.

'Firstly, you have a lot of devices I saw on my company's security team. Wireless communication and video camera. Most people in the academy focus only on equipment that makes them stronger but you seem to be focused more on stuff that will help you with the mission.' Weiss was rather observant, which made me uncomfortable as all hell. 'Secondly, the way you speak sounds as if you were talking from personal experience, as if you knew what you're saying.' I kept up with my inventory examination, determined not to show that I was troubled.

'Well, I'm happy you seem to think I'm experienced but there's no way I could be...' something caught my attention, 'shit, I think this one's broken too.'

'Which one?' she asked. Bless Fortune for this distraction.

'My communicator.' The radio transceiver was silent no matter what I tried. Oh well, it wasn't crucial that I had it anyway. It was just inconvenient since scrolls did not get reception this far away from the city. We were cut off from the rest of our teams for now. 'It's not a big issue though.' Before Weiss resumed her previous line of conversation, I intercepted, 'so I guess we're going to get ourselves out of here?'

At these words, she smiled, 'I can't wait to get away from you.'

'You sure know how to make a guy's heart flutter, princess,' I muttered. I opened up the map of the area on my scroll. 'I'm sick of this mission as well and the amount of beowolves we tranquilized should get us out of last place. Let's just get out of here.'

'What's this?' she asked, peering onto the screen.

'The map of this area. We should plan our route back to the city first and contact the others once our scrolls get reception.' The way back didn't seem to be too bad, just typical forest terrain. 'The best way ought to be...' I looked over the map and assessed the landscape, 'by this way.' I traced my finger over a stretch of ground that appeared uniform.

'Yes, I think so too,' she agreed.

A consideration crossed my mind, 'you don't happen to know where Lycan was heading, do you?' I asked, not hoping much. It would be smart to have that beast's location in mind if it was possible.

However, Weiss exceeded expectations. 'Who do you think you're talking to? Of course I would have kept track of something like that.' She pointed at a spot. 'This was the last place I saw it,' she ran her finger across the map, 'and this is the likely path it's traveling.' Hmm, according to her our paths were more or less parallel, meaning our routes shouldn't intersect. It looked like we should reach the City of Vale without much hassl...

A thought clicked. 'Shit,' I exclaimed. A knot of panic settled on my stomach.

'What's wrong?'

I pushed myself from the ground. 'We need to go after it.' I holstered my equipment and prepared to set out. I had to stop that Grimm.

A hand clenched onto my wrist and pulled me to a halt. 'What are you saying?' Confusion was apparent on heiress's face. I realised that I wouldn't convince her to listen to me without an explanation. I loaded up the map again.

'Look here. This is the path Lycan's going.' I traced its passage through the forest.

'Yes, I see it. So what?'

'Where do you think its going to arrive if it keeps going that way?' My finger moved in the same direction until it touched on the commercial district of Vale.

'Oh.'

'Usually, I'll say we contact the others for back up but...' I held up my defunct transceiver, 'that's a luxury we can't afford.'

'So we need to stop it,' Weiss muttered, none too enthusiastically.

'Well, not necessarily. We have two options.'

'And what are they?'

'The first option is as you said; we chase the thing down, confront it and stop it. However, if our previous encounter was any indicator, the confrontation would be quite detrimental to our continued welfare.'

'So what's the other option?'

'We split up. I will stall the beowolf while you head to the city and contact help. You can talk to law enforcement and even the academy. This way is the smarter way of doi...'

'No.' Her refusal was stern. I had expected this.

'Come on, Weiss. You know this is the best method.'

'I said no. I'm not leaving you to fight that thing alone.' Her eyes were unwavering. It looked like there won't be a way for me to convince her otherwise. Oh well, it wasn't like I was looking forward to fighting that thing alone.

'So I guess that leaves us only the option number uno, huh.'

She was not pleased. 'Why do we have to even bother with Lycan? Let's just both go to the city. I'm sure if we contact the authority as soon as we can, they can be prepared for the beowolf.'

Usually, I would have supported such a course of action; it was wiser and safer. However, this time the circumstances were different. I could not let the beowolf reach the city. I simply couldn't. 'Weiss. Do you know how many street kids live in the commercial district?'

'I... what?' she was confused at my sudden change of topic.

'Majority of homeless children under the age of eight live in that district. We are talking in thousands here. So where do they stay each night?' I asked, knowing she didn't have the answer.

'Uhm...'

'On the edge of the commercial district, where it touches the forest, there are many abandoned builidngs that serve as a buffer between the people and the Grimm. For the longest time, these structures became shelter for these kids.'

Understanding dawned on the heiress. 'So when Lycan reaches the city...'

'The first group of people it meets will be the homeless kids of the City of Vale,' I finished for her. 'Standard reaction time for the Vale Police Department for emergencies are three minutes. However, evacuation of these buildings will take much more time. I assure you, even if we raise alarm as soon as we reach the vincinity of the city, they won't be able to fully escape before Lycan reaches them. And once that happens, they would need a lot of body bags to clean up the mess.'

'What if we contact Beacon Academy?'

'That's even worse. The huntsmen wouldn't even reach here before Lycan does. Those children would literally be hit in their sleep. Maybe the luckier ones will die in their sleep. Either way, many will die.'

'So it really is just us.' She looked crestfallen.

'Yes, I'm afraid.' I felt the same.

'There has to be a better plan than just us facing off against it,' said Weiss. It was my sentiment precisely. I'm sure there was a better method. A smarter one, a safer one. What were the options we had at our disposal?

A thought clicked.

'I have an idea.' It was mad, even by my standards, but there was a note of simplicity to it that appealed to me. Despite the situation - or perhaps because of it - I grinned like a mad man. 'You're not going to like it.' My smile got even wider.

Weiss gulped.

-x-x-x-x-

My body hurt all over, even though all I was doing was running through the forest. Man, I really need a doctor. 'Are we there yet?' I asked to my partner, who was a couple of steps ahead of me.

'We are five minutes closer than we previously were the last time you asked,' she answered back, clearly annoyed.

'You could've just said no,' I retorted.

'After what you've just proposed, forgive me if I'm not in the best of moods.'

'Oh princess, it's these crazy schemes that makes the world worth living.'

'You're unhinged,' she opined.

'Yes. But that's one of my charms, isn't it?'

She shook her head, 'ugh, whatever. I just hope this crazy plan of yours work. We are gonna need a lot of luck to pull it through.'

'It's not crazy, it's bold. And you know what they say about fortune and bold. It's gonna work.' I omitted the fact that if it didn't work, we would probably be too dead to care.

I really hated this mission.

-x-x-x-x-

There are moments in life when you get to understand yourself truly well in the most inappropriate timings. For example, I once learned that I should not watch sappy dramas because I'm liable to cry at those touching scenes. Sadly, I had snuck a peek on the television while robbing a house when I broke down. You can imagine that the residents were not too happy with my newfound self-discovery.

It was same this time too. Now really wasn't the time to be realising that I was extremely fond of the city and I shouldn't leave it no matter what. Not when a named terror was inbound any moment.

'You remember the plan, right?' I reconfirmed for the umpteenth time.

'If you ask me that again, I swear I'll stab you,' she retorted.

I let out a laugh at that. 'Weiss, you're okay,' I told her.

'I'm more than okay; I'm splendid,' she replied without missing a beat. I laughed more at that.

'No matter what, stick to the plan. Do you understand?'

'Yes, I get it. Stop pressuring me.'

I put flint into my next words. 'Even if I die, stick to the plan. Do you understand?'

Weiss glared at me. 'You're not going to die.'

'Weiss.'

'Fine! I get it! I'll stick to the darn plan!' she yelled.

I was about to thank her when crashing of woods nearby echoed around us. It was time. I brought up Fiasco. 'This is going to sting a bit,' I said.

Then without hesitation, I shot her thrice.

She tolerated the pain without even a grunt. 'Not in the least,' she replied with suppressed discomfort. I was worried - it would have hurt about as much as paintball rounds do - but I knew she wasn't permanently injured.

'Go, wait for the signal. And be careful.'

'Same to you.' She entered the foliage and disappeared from my sight.

Now to play my part in this ordeal. I loaded Fiasco with much more lethal rounds. I brought out my grenades. I checked my vambraces to ensure they were secure. I firmly fixed my respirator.

When the lycanthrope burst through the thicket, I was ready.

'Let's see just how much gas you can withstand.' I selected a few in my collection and detonated them all over my surroundings.

I was done playing nice. The grenades I was using weren't sleeping gas or stink bombs. They were poisonous, meant to kill.

Ho, boy. If I had ever used this during my thieving days, the police would have hunted me till I was behind bars. Several layers of bars, in fact. Funny, I had always assumed that I would be using these things against a huntsman or an assassin after my life. I never thought that it would be used against a freaking beowolf.

However, it was too soon to let my guard down. In the first place, it wasn't a guarantee the poison was potent enough to kill a Grimm. I did not have Grimm in mind when I had it manufactured and therefore, I had no clue what the gas did on beowolf physiology. For all I know, it may simply make the creature nauseated. In any case, even if it was lethal, Lycan probably wasn't going to drop dead anytime soon. It certainly looked energetic, if the angry expression was anything to go by.

With a howl, the monster charged.

Right. I had something for its ridiculous speed too. Swiftly, I tossed grease-nades on the ground around me. The surface of the floor was coated with the slippery substance.

It's as Melanis had said. It doesn't matter how fast an opponent was if I could control where it could be. Unless the beast knew how to fly, it had to stand on ground. Its speed was now going to work against it.

The charge abruptly came to an end as the creature slipped and tumbled to the ground. I released a breath of relief. My palms felt sweaty.

The monster snarled and regained its footings. It locked eyes with me and I shivered at the hatred it sent my way. Treading the ground meticulously, I circled around, matching its movement. I fired a few shots at it but it dodged the rounds with ease. I kept dispensing grease steadily around us. For now, it was the only thing keeping the beowolf at bay.

Eventually, Lycan decided it had enough waiting. It lunged for me at a speed it could manage without slipping on the ground. Well, it was still fast, but nowhere near unavoidable. The only trouble was that I had to be cautious not to skid on the oil myself. My own movements were going to slower as well.

Thank goodness for the vambraces. At slower speed, Lycan's blows were weak enough to be blocked as long as I blocked with my right arm - there was no way my left arm could withstand any sort of hits. Instead, I fired upon my assailant with my left hand. My aim suffered a bit because of that but we were so close it did not matter.

It swiped horizontally, forcing me to crouch. Expecting another swipe from its other paw, I rolled out of the way. I rolled a bit farther I had intended, sliding on the ground. Just as I was getting up, Lycan leapt. Knowing where it was heading, I backpedalled quickly. My boot lost purchase due to the movement and I fell.

Luckily, Lycan didn't manage to land properly either, or that would have been the end of me. I was on my feet faster than it was so I used the opportunity to introduce the beowolf to a couple of my knives and their bomb pellets. The smoke from the explosion clouded its vision but it leapt for me again anyway.

The only issue with that was the fact was that I had moved. In my place were some fragmentation grenades instead. As the explosions erupted, steel bearings tore into its flesh.

However, all I accomplished was to get it more enraged. It gave a bloodcurdling shriek and jumped onto a tree branch. Then it pounced onto another. On the top of a tree, it glared at me. It then dawned on me how screwed this development made me. If it could traverse amongst the branches, the only one affected by the greases were me.

I guess I was no longer able to stall for time this way. I loaded an incendiary round into Fiasco and fired.

The fire blazed immediately, devouring the oil in the area. The heat was immense. I inwardly thanked the genius who had invented flame repellant gel that I had applied before the battle. Smoke covered the world and heat filled up the rest. The cracking sound of incinerating vegetation filled my ears. Although the poison gas was probably being displaced by the heat, I kept my respirator in. Smoke was almost as bad as the gas in such intensity.

I looked around and saw no sign of Lycan. Where was it? Did it run away from the flames just as most wild creatures did? Something told me it hadn't. 'Where are you?' I whispered to the inferno around me.

In answer, the canine juggernaut launched itself at me through the pillars of flame. I tried to dodge but couldn't manage to do it cleanly. The little contact we had was enough to fling me across the ground for a good few metres. Pain flared all over my body, especially in the areas previously injured.

Shaking, I got up and viewed the approaching beast. It was scorched. Having no gel to protect it from the flames, the fire had been unrelenting on it. And yet, despite all these injury, it showed no sign of fatigue, only its desire to kill.

Well, I wasn't going to make it easy. I prepared myself.

Then the cavalry arrived.

From the depth of the forest, a rumbling noise began. Both of us looked at its direction, wary. I had a vague idea what was coming but it didn't put my mind at ease by any means.

Then from the thicket, burst forth Weiss Schnee. Her attire was in disarray, the result of what was probably a sprint through the forest. My plan must have worked better than I had thought.

'Balthazar! Get them off me!' she screamed as she raced towards me.

The "them" in question was the horde of Grimm that was chasing her. There were several dozens of them, all determined to catch the heiress. Holy crap, so it actually worked. I grinned at the funny scene despite the situation.

'Balthazar, you dolt! Don't just laugh there! Get them off!' She sounded genuinely distressed.

Thoroughly regretting the malfunctioning of my video recorder, I replied, 'aye, aye, princess,' as I produced my electric grenade. Without ceremony, I tossed it at her. Electricity sparked around and got rid of the Grimm pheromone I had applied on her with Fiasco just now. Afterwards, I tossed a smoke grenade to hide us from view.

Dragging the temporarily stunned heiress, we hid ourselves from the sight of Lycan and the Grimm horde Weiss had - I suppressed a chuckle - attracted. Now was the moment of truth.

If Lycan and the other Grimm did not engage each other, we were in serious trouble.

Lycan glared at the new arrivals. It then howled in challenge. Without further ado, it leapt towards the nearest King Taijitu and ripped off its head.

Chaos ensued.

Feeling relieved that my plan was a success, strength left my legs. Weiss, with the jitter of being hit by an electric grenade wearing off, surveyed the scene and commented, 'wow, it worked.'

'It's all because you're so attractive, princess.' I got a slam to my abdomen for that one.

'You'll never tell this to anyone, ever. Understand?'

'What, you mean the fact that Grimm find you absolutely irresistible?' I teased.

Wordlessly, she brandished Myrtenaster.

That sobered me up. 'Understood, ma'am.' She sheathed her weapon.

'So now we wait?'

'Yes. The others doubtlessly saw the fire. I'm sure they're on their way. I just hope Lycan and his pals clean up each other before they do.'

'Do you think they'll punish us for arson?' she asked, worried.

I found her question hilarious. Here we were, eliminating a wanted Grimm from existence for the sake of mankind and she was worried if the method we employed constituted as arson. I ruffled her hair. 'I think we'll be fine.'

We sat in the bushes until help arrived.

-x-x-x-x-

_Melanis gazed out the windows. The sight of the broken moon always brought him peace. It had been a long day and he needed whatever solace he could get._

_The whole bloody day had been a fiasco. Actually, it would have been perfect, if it wasn't for that meddling beowolf. That Grimm with bounty messed up things beyond he could imagine. It had been his blunder, no excuses. He knew Ccinedera had a hand in that area. He should have known better than to assume they would place nice._

_A knock on the door. He grimaced. He was hoping to be able to rest till the morning before the tribunal came for him. Oh well, nothing to it. 'Come in,' he said, expecting Glynda Goodwitch to march into the office to demand an explanation for his actions._

_The one who entered was not the strict professor but someone Melanis considered worse. 'Evening, Professor Ozpin.'_

_'Evening to you as well, Professor Ithel.'_

_'Please, Headmaster. You know how I feel about that unearned title. Melanis.'_

_'Very well, Melanis. I presume you know why I have visited?' Ozpin questioned._

_'You mean to say it wasn't for my astounding wits and pleasant company?' He got a chuckle out of Ozpin for that._

_'You always were trying to talk your way out of trouble, Melanis. Even when you were a student here.'_

_'That's a few years ago, professor. I appreciate you don't dig up past memories.' There was a note of warning in Melanis's tone._

_'Very well, Melanis. To business then.' Ozpin's words turned level as well. 'Your actions were unacceptable.'_

_'Which ones? Or do you refer to all of them?'_

_'Mostly all. It was bad enough you forced your way to get the two teams on a patrol meant for second year onwards. To let them continue despite the presence of an Identified Grimm in the area shows high degree of negligence.' Ah, here it was. The condemnation._

_Melanis knew better than to present any feeble excuses. 'I accept any punishment you see fit.'_

_'A sentence that would have pleased Glynda immensely. However, that is not enough for me.' This was why he deemed Professor Ozpin worse than Professor Goodwitch._

_'Alright then, what is it you want?'_

_'A reason,' Ozpin answered. 'I know you, Melanis. You may seem reckless with abandon but I know that within that cranium, there's a meticulous mind. You orchestrated all this for a reason and I will only be satisfied by hearing what that is.'_

_Melanis could tell Ozpin was serious about it. 'Ccinedera,' he answered._

_Ozpin's eyes widened. 'Ccinedera? Isn't that the...'_

_'Yes. The group I've been hunting. They were the reason for that Identified Grimm.' Hatred burned within Melanis's eyes. 'They are planning something again in Vale, and I'll be damned before I let it happen.'_

_'However, that does not excuse you from exposing those children to such danger,' said Ozpin. Melanis gritted his teeth in frustration. Nobody ever understood._

_He cracked open a can of lemonade and took a sip. 'You don't get it, do you? Nobody ever does. Ccinedera is a malicious tumor. They let you underestimate them; to disregard them as unimportant compared to other, more obvious threats. Then, before you realise it, they wrap your world in their little fingers; impossible to remove, to cure. Just like cancer.'_

_Ozpin closed his eyes at his words. They've had this conversation before. 'Be that as it may, you cannot thrust these children into a harm's way, Melanis. They are just chil...'_

_'They are not children!' Melanis bellowed. 'Why do you not understand? They do not have the luxury to be children! Not if Ccinedera is to be stopped.'_

_'To stop them is our job, the huntsmen's,' replied Ozpin, his conviction unwavering. 'It is not for us to push down our work to the younger generation. Our purpose is to stop these evil from reaching them.'_

_'Stop them? How? You are so hung up on the queen to even give Ccinedera a second's worth of thought. Everybody is! How many of your allies even know of the name Ccinedera, professor? How many understands its threat?' He gulped down a mouthful. 'War is coming, professor, just like your friend Ironwood likes to say. But it won't be from where you think it's coming, not if Ccinedera is left unchecked.'_

_'So you would sacrifice these students for your purposes?' There was a dangerous tone to his words._

_'I do not intend to sacrifice anyone. However, I'm their teacher. If I feel that they should be aware of the level of danger Ccinedera poses, you can bet they will experience it.'_

_Ozpin contemplated the young teacher and could see Melanis's conviction would not be shaken. He rose from his seat, ready to leave. 'I shall take my leave, Melanis. I trust you know where to draw the line; I'm sure this blunder won't happen again. But before I go, consider this; if the future can only be protected by casting aside the children we were meant to protect, for what purpose are we preserving it?' With those parting words, Ozpin left._

_Melanis sat alone in his office, just as he had been. He finished his lemonade without tasting it. The can crumpled in his hands. He gazed out the window upon the shattered moon. It did not offer him the solace he sought._

_This was why he had preferred Glynda over Ozpin._

-x-x-x-x-

**AN: I think I exposed a few things here and in all honesty, I don't know if this was a good move. Therefore, I would really appreciate some feedback here.**

**On a side note, in the next chapter, there is going to be a filler duel scene in Melanis's class and I'm all out of duelists ideas. Therefore, I wanted to ask if you guys had preferences you wanted to see. It can be anybody, my characters or RWBY world's. However, try to keep within year one. Also, don't say Balthazar plz. I hav sth special for him. **


	12. Chapter 12: A Damsel to Destress: part 1

****DISCLAIMER: Those that ought to belong to others shall belong to their respective owners. Those that ought to belong to me, if any, shall belong to m******e. **

**AN: I apologise being so late. Ahhhh. I get so distracted. Skyrim is a rly big game.**

**Read first. Enjoy.**

**I'll have my excuses at the AN at the end of the chappy.**

-x-x-x-x-

A Damsel to De-stress: part 1

It had been a week since our team's first patrol.

For something so intense, there wasn't too much to show for it. All I had left were my left arm in a cast and my chest in bandages for all that trouble. Life went on, and even something like killing a Grimm with a bounty will become unimportant with time.

Unfortunately, the time was not coming soon enough - thanks to a certain teacher.

'So on that note, the successful hunt of Lycan makes Balthazar and Weiss one of the youngest people to have killed an Identified Grimm in recorded history,' Melanis announced to the class. Discussions buzzed, filling up the room to irritating levels. I could sense the watching eyes alternating between the heiress and me.

'Since I'm neither Professor Port or Professor Oobleck, I shall not speak of this achievement from the point of view of Grimm hunting or history. But even in terms of pure combat tactics, I must say the strategy was amazing. Perhaps Balthazar and Weiss would be willing to share with you guys at their free time. It is a deep shame there are no recorded footage of the whole event.' He spoke with flourish, like an entertainer leading on a crowd.

Arghhh. I was not comfortable being under the limelight. I glimpsed towards the heiress; she didn't seem fazed by the attentions though. If anything, she looked happy being praised in front of the audience. It must be the Schnee blood in her.

Hmph. Go figure. For a socialite like her, I'm sure the accomplishment would be a brilliant icebreaker in a posh dinner party in the future. However, for a person whose entire life so far had relied on staying low profile to sustain it, the attention was a bit too much.

Luckily, it seemed Melanis got bored of the teasing. He proceeded with everyone's favorite part of the class. 'While I would love to ask Balthazar to stand and take the stage, the nurse made her stance rather adamant,' I noticed a slight gritting of his teeth as he spoke, 'he is in no condition for anything more than the barest minimum to ensure his continued survival. Apparently, any form of fighting, training and combating exceeds the said minimum. Therefore, the honor of today's duel shall be given to Cardin Winchester and... Lestia Glass.'

Lestia leapt from her seat in joy, to put it mildly.

-x-x-x-x-

Lestia and Cardin stood facing each other in the arena.

'I've been so looking forward to this,' Lestia beamed without a shred of tension, not at all seeming like a combatant at all. The Bladed Leaf unfolded, its length easily outmatching its owner's short stature.

Cardin looked quite pleased as well. 'This ought to be easy,' he muttered. He brandished his mace.

Melanis called out from the spectator's seats. 'Remember, the two of you. This is a no-semblance combat. Whoever breaches this forfeits the match immediately.' Both nodded their understandings.

Lestia darted forward, not at all disguising her approach. Cardin grinned at her straightforward lunge and prepared in accordance, his mace brought forward.

I smirked. He was looking down on my partner way too much. What she lacked in deceit, she made for with pure effort.

Just before she entered his ranged, she fired a shot and accelerated. Before he could react, she struck him solidly in the chest. He recoiled back, more in surprise than in pain, but he recoiled nonetheless. That was all the opening she needed.

She followed his backtrack and slashed at his back. The loud clang off his armor told me how hard a blow it was. Cardin staggered forward, pursued by the green huntress. Twirling the doubled headed halberd, she went for the knight's calf. It was another solid hit and I could see the agony reflected on his face as his knees gave slightly. Noticing the opportunity, Lestia used her weapon to lock his other leg, causing him to trip. Even before he fell, Lestia readied her next attack, an overhead blow. She swung as soon as he dropped to the floor.

Cardin rolled away, barely able to dodge in time and rushed to his feet in a hurry. Lestia was already gearing towards him but he managed to parry the oncoming lunge. He swung recklessly to keep her at bay, his mace flying through the air in an unpredictable pattern. Lestia ducked under it, launched herself once more with another shot and appeared right in front of him.

Then she shot him at point blank range.

He soared through the air, landing a few metres away. If it was anybody else, they would have let him collapse. Not Lestia. She was already racing to him, intending to keep up her torrent of assault.

I chuckled at the scene. While she may not be deceitful, it did not mean Lestia was soft by any means. I had never seen anyone who fought as doggedly as she did. She was not crafty, yes, but she was definitely vicious, ruthless, merciless and unrelenting all rolled into one.

Sometimes I hated training with Lestia more than with Alex.

Spotting the approaching huntress, Cardin pushed himself off the ground. The condescending expression was gone now, replaced by one of frustration and anger. I bet getting served by a girl barely more than half his size would be rage inducing. He braced for her attack and parried it properly. Lestia halted her stream of attacks - now that he had his bearings back - and observed the opponent once more, like a predator seeking a chance to pounce.

It looked like the fight was going to get serious from here onward.

'I'm gonna break you in half,' he declared.

'Heard all that before,' she gestured to herself, 'still standing.' She brought up her halberd. Her eyes never left him, peeled for any sort of openings.

Cardin charged headfirst, his mace blazing. He swung at Lestia as soon as she was within his reach. The blow thundered down on the ground, erupting into flames upon impact. While the swing would have been devastating if it had hit, Lestia had - rather easily - evaded the blow. Circling the bigger huntsman, she tried to reduce the distance but he was wise to such attempts. He did not overcommit with his attacks, keeping his guards up.

After a few ineffective feints, I could see Lestia was getting impatient. She ventured too deep with an uppercut and could not retreat fast enough to avoid the retaliatory blow. Cardin's mace connected solidly with Lestia's stomach, knocking her to the ground. Smirking triumphantly, he readied an overhead swing and let it drop.

There was no way Lestia could dodge it; she was lying face up on the ground. She may be fast, but she wasn't that fast. 'Crap,' she muttered.

_Clang!_The metallic ring reverberated in the air. I leaned forward to take a better peek at my partner's fate. Bladed Leaf's shaft were inches away from her face, the only thing between her head and the heavy weapon.

Blocking against Cardin's attacks wasn't a cheap decision for her though. From her expression, it was clear the strain of stopping such force was not pleasant. I reckon it felt like the wall dropping on her. Any more such hits and she would not be able to fight properly. Lestia relied heavily on evasions for her defence; her endurance was not the sort that could withstand many hits from someone like Cardin.

Grabbing the short lull of having blocked the huntsman's attack, she locked Cardin's legs with hers and twisted. Although she failed to bring him down to the ground, the distraction was enough for her to scramble out of his range.

Once more, the two sized up each other, having disengaged from the melee. Cardin seemed to have regained his confidence after the previous joust. Lestia was looking a bit fatigued on the other hand. If she wanted to win, she could not afford to be reckless like that again.

And so, Lestia changed tack. Bladed Leaf lengthened, the chain within allowed to go loose. The blades whistled through the air, resembling its namesake. The green huntress maintained flawless control of the shaft, dictating the movements of its blades with beautiful, if deadly, precision.

Not giving the huntsman time to adapt, she bore into the melee. She swung at his torso. Cardin's mace spun, knocking the Leaf aside. Lestia grinned at the scene and sharply yanked at the chains. The Leaf changed its direction and sliced at his leg, causing him to stumble. 'Ughh,' he groaned.

There was the opening she needed. She glided towards him, rotating her weapon as she went. She moved with the grace of a dancer. She whirled to his back. The blade followed her, cutting the huntsman. He swirled around to earn a breathing room. However, Lestia simply ducked under the swing. The chains retracted as she did, and as she danced around the blow, Bladed Leaf scored another nick.

Realizing he didn't shake her off, he tried again, aiming lower this time. She somersaulted over this one, her halberd going for a stab as she passed overhead. She followed her landing with immediate flurry of strikes, keeping him off balance. He tried to back away, but Lestia wouldn't let her prey escape so easily.

She aimed for the elbow of his sword arm. He defended with a parry. However, the stroke had been a feint. As he raised his arm to block, Lestia locked his legs with the other end of the halberd and swept his feet off the ground.

'Oof,' he grunted clumsily. As he recollected his senses, he learned that Bladed Leaf rested just above his throat.

'You know, compared to Alex, your defence is atrocious,' she commented. She was smiling happily. 'It would help if you guarded your legs better.' With the side of her halberd, she whacked his head hard, causing him to see stars.

Melanis laughed at the scene. 'Well, ladies and gentlemen. That seems to be the match.'

-x-x-x-x-

The class was over, with a bit of time to spare before the next. The members of the Team BLAC were gathered in the locker room, some of them preparing for the next class.

'So you can't go to the Forest Fall?' Lestia asked as she cleaned the barrel of Bladed Leaf.

'Nope. The nurse made that very clear.' I shuddered at the memory of how she gave her instructions. 'If Melanis couldn't go against her, you can bet your aura I'm not gonna disobey her instructions.' I shrugged; I wasn't too upset being banned from a field trip to gather some tree saps. The fact that the I'll be missing on possible chance of encountering Grimm in the place was just an added bonus.

Circe engulfed her CouP De Grace in flames, a part of her routine weapon performance check. 'In what manner will you spend the upcoming available hours?'

Hmm, I hadn't thought about that yet. 'I don't know. I guess I ought to ring up my supplier. I need to restock my grenades, after all.'

Alex refilled the dust cartridges in Pillar and started morphing Foundation into its various shapes – of which there were surprising many – as a test. 'Just curious, how many grenades do you have?'

I ran the mathematics in my head. 'At least a hundred. Possibly a hundred fifty? But I only carry about a third of it at any time. They are a bit heavy.'

'Hundred and fifty!?' Lestia exclaimed.

'I said I only carry a third of them at a time,' I repeated.

'That still places the number between thirty-three and fifty. I admit that impresses me as well,' said Circe.

'Really? Compared to what you carry, I'm just carrying a bunch of explosives. I don't see why you're all so amazed.'

Alex chuckled. 'So we're the weird ones now? All we've got are transforming weaponry and dusts that unleash nature's powers. What can be so strange about that?' He grinned.

'Absolutely nothing, of course. I guess my sense of norm is just screwed up.' I replied sarcastically.

'So it would seem.' Circe supported her childhood friend.

'It's definitely Balty,' Lestia agreed. Sigh. It's hard being a leader; you get support from nobody.

We kept on the banter for a little longer before the time came for them to leave. They bade me farewell, Lestia promising to bring souvenirs. I declined expressively. There was no way anything good was going to come from that. Eventually the locker room became empty, leaving only the silence as my company.

Well, I had things to do. May as well get to them. I brought my scroll out to give Anderson, my weapons supplier, a call.

As I was about to bring up his contact number, the phone rang in my hands. The Caller ID simply said **Mel**. I frowned. Why was Melanis giving me a call? I answered.

_'Greetings, Balthazar.' _Melanis's greeting sounded as he usually did, as if he was perpetually amused.

'To what do I owe this pleasure, Melanis?' My voice was slightly chafed as I spoke to him, since I was worried what trouble the bizarre professor was going to cause me now.

_'Well, you sure are sounding perky,' _he droned sardonically, _'I bet you cheer the ladies right up when you greet them in the morning.'_

I gritted my teeth in annoyance. 'Does this call actually happen to have a purpose, Melanis? Or is this you being overly social?'

_'Definitely a girl's mood maker.'_

'Melanis!' My voice rose a little. Just a little.

_'Oh fine, Mr Grumpy. Just head to my office. I need you to do something for me.'_

'Am I allowed to refuse?' I asked, not hoping much.

_'You're a smart fellow, Balthazar. What do you think?' _I could feel him smiling viciously on the other side of the line.

I snapped the phone shut, giving myself a slight victory – a preemptive victory I would feel justified claiming soon enough, if my bad feelings were correct. Ugh, why couldn't he disturb somebody else? I wanted to say it's because I was the only one not going to the field trip but knew better than to delude myself. I revised my stance; I would rather be in Forever Fall than be under Melanis's whim. At least things would not be as crazy in the forest under Professor Goodwitch, right?

I began making my way to the madman's office.

-x-x-x-x-

With great reluctance, I knocked on the door.

'Come in,' said the voice I would rather not be hearing. I pushed the heavy door open and entered the realm of annoyance and irritation. The interior was as intriguing as I remembered and despite myself, my eyes wandered all over the office's fascinating artifacts. Old habits really died hard, I thought, as I inspected a pottery masterpiece from Vacuo. That was worth at least twenty thousand lien in the legal market; it was worth more in the black.

'Appraising the art?' came the professor's admonishment. The rebuke irritated me, and I briefly contemplated ignoring him momentarily before my sense of welfare regained control.

I turned and made a rather small realisation; we had another person sitting in on the conversation. A rather gorgeous girl, in fact.

Before anything else, my thief senses practically buzzed with the wealth and prosperity she projected. She was born into wealth and very comfortable with it. Her dress – the type I've only associated with ballrooms until now – was made of materials of value that could have fed an army of starving children in the streets for days. A simple necklace was the only jewelry she adorned but I could tell from its spark what it was worth.

The huntress herself was a head-turner. I've seen a lot of attractive girls in this academy. My own team members weren't that bad to look at either; I've had moments of being mesmerized by Circe a few times when she smiled. But this girl? She was something else, as if sculpted in someone's image of perfection.

Her hair was like the aurora in the night sky I've seen before in postcard once. A whirlpool of colors of various spectrum; they captivated my attention. Locks of red, blue, yellow, and green mixed and blended into diverse range of shades as they cascaded down her shoulders all the way to her waist. Her features were flawless, her skin porcelain. I've had never seen anyone quite like her before.

Right, now I sound like I'm worshiping her.

You need to realise something; I was not head over heels over her. Far from it. I may appreciate beauty but I did not trust beautiful people. Do you know how many successful marketwomen are attractive? I'm not saying all beautiful women are untrustworthy – my sample size was limited to criminals, after all – I'm saying that these tainted samples have installed a lack of trust in me when it came to beauty.

And there was nothing that triggered these suspicious nature like the most beautiful girl I've seen in my whole life.

I shifted my view to Melanis and frowned, wondering what despicable things this man was planning.

Melanis smiled, 'I see you've noticed Raynee. She does have that effect on people, I've come to realise,' said Melanis, in a way introducing me to her.

Ah, Raynee. Well, I've seen her around before – she once fought against Blake in a duel – but this was the first time I had a proper look at her. Other than her distinguishable hair, I've never really noticed her. That meant either one of the two things; either I was antisocial, or she was. I hoped it was latter.

'Hello, I'm Raynee Miraclewish. I'm from Team IVRY' she waved, showing a smile that seemed genuine.

'Nice to meet you. Team BLAC's leader.' I returned the greeting, minus the wave. My eyes lingered on her a second longer than I had intended. Get a grip, Balthazar.

'And with the introductions out of the way, I would like to talk about the reason why I've invited Balthazar, if you don't mind, Raynee.'

Her voice was composed and graceful, befitting her image. 'Go right ahead, Mel.' Her words were much more informal though, quite the opposite of Circe. I also couldn't help but notice she seemed to be buddies with the odd professor.

'You see, Balthazar here has volunteered to spend his time with you since he is forbidden to go to the field trip, just like you.'

'I did what?' I exclaimed.

'He did?' she asked, surprised. A bright smile lit her face.

'He did,' Melanis affirmed. 'So for the rest of the day, you won't have to spend it by yourself.' He announced cheerfully, adding to my headache with each and every word.

I was about to yell out a demand for an explanation for this when Raynee freaking bowed to me. 'Thank you so much! I hated having to spend time alone.' It was a legit full bow too. This girl was confusing me. Her tone and behavior was so formal, even though the diction was friendly and casual.

Either way, I was not yet enough a bastard to start bellowing in the presence of a lady. 'A word, if you please, Melanis?' I flicked a nod at the other end of the room.

'I please, Balthazar,' he replied. We walked across the room to the corner before I sharply turned to him.

'What the hell's the meaning of this?' I hissed each word out, my irritation plain.

'I set you up on a date. You should be thanking me,' he answered insouciantly.

'Don't screw with me. I'm sick of your games. What are you scheming?'

He tutted at my words. 'My, my. Balthazar. So paranoid. I simply need somebody to look after the beautiful lady over there for the day, that's all. She is not the most... how do I say... wise to the ways of the world.'

My brows furrowed in confusion. 'You... are asking me to chaperon Raynee? Isn't that something an older woman is supposed to be doing?'

He chuckled. 'As impressed as I am with your knowledge and profound understanding of the word, I'm afraid what I'm requesting is not chaperoning. I would say it's much more closer to babysitting.'

'You want me to babysit a huntress cadet?' I stole a glance at Raynee, not comprehending. Raynee was stronger than me by far, if the performances I've seen of her in classes were any indication.

'Yes. That's exactly it.'

'You do know I'm nowhere as strong as her.'

'I am perfectly aware. There are not many in my class you can claim to be stronger than, to be honest. A few at most, if I'm feeling generous.'

I grumbled, 'gee, thanks for that.'

He offered no apologies. 'I'm not elucidating anything you don't know yourself.'

I couldn't fault a man for being frank, no matter how much I wanted to. 'So my point is, why would you ask me to look after somebody who is so much more capable of taking care of herself?'

'Well, that depends on how you view the concept of "taking care oneself." In terms of pure combat prowess, Raynee is a candidate for the top spot, with only two or three contenders for the title,' I gasped at the declaration; Melanis meant his words when he spoke of this sort of things. Raynee must be really good in a fight. Before I could ask just how tough she is though, Melanis resumed, 'however, in social context, she is absolutely hopeless. Irredeemably gullible. I could have been on display in every wanted poster in town and she would still approach me and ask how my day was.'

'You're exaggerating.'

'I'm afraid not. Her upbringing had focused heavily upon the high class aspect of our fine civilization. However, her tutors apparently failed to account for the mundane and numerous peasants' way of life, assuming she wouldn't mingle with the likes of them.'

I just stared him blankly, thinking he must be pulling my leg.

He sighed at my expression. 'I'm serious, Balthazar.'

Yeah right, he was. No way in hell what he said was real.

He groaned in irritation as my silence continued. 'Seriously.'

A seed of doubt ingrained in me. 'For real?'

'Upon my honor.'

'That's not good enough.'

'Glad to know where I stand in your sight. Alright, upon Pendulum and Clockwork Strikers.'

For the second time, I looked at him blankly.

He rolled his eyes. 'My weapons, Balthazar. I swear on my weapons I mean my words.' Well, that was more convincing. I doubted he would sell out his weapons just to trick me.

Sadly, that meant now I had to believe him about what he said about the rainbow-haired girl. I thought about what I had been told. A rich girl, so high up on the social ladder that she had been practically unexposed to the dangers of everyday lives and was extremely prone to them. She sounded like a character out of a sappy fantasy romance novel. You know, one where she meets with a poor, normal boy, gets into an adventure, struggles for the first time in her royal life and learns about true meaning of life and love.

Ahem. Not that I've ever read any of those sappy fantasy romance novels, mind you.

Getting rid of the stray thoughts in my head, I turned to Melanis again. 'Okay, let's say for a second what you've told me is true. How is that even possible? Just who is she?'

Melanis seemed to consider me before replying with, 'nope, sorry. Not my place to share. You'll have to get her to tell about herself.'

That sounded suspicious as hell. I said out my thoughts aloud, 'that sounds shady as hell, Melanis.'

He crossed his arms. 'Not much a trusting soul, are you?'

Trust someone who looked like that? Not really. I simply shook my head at his question.

The teacher nodded sagely. 'Well, I guess that's smart. Everyone has a skeleton in their closets, huh?' The words struck close to home. 'Still, you should give her a chance. She's gonna be like a breath of fresh air after all that paranoia, you know? Plus, she needs a friend, not a teacher.'

Hmm. I didn't know it was possible but Melanis sounded sincere. Despite what he has done to us in the past, I was leaning towards believing him.

This academy was definitely changing me for the worse.

'Oh, all right. Fine. I'll hang out with her.' At least she was pretty.

'You make it sound like you're doing me a favor.'

'I am. Don't you forget it.'

'Hmph,' he muttered. 'I'll consider after the day is done. We'll see how good you guide her around.'

How hard could it be? It was just one day. I could probably just accompany her around the library or something. On second thought though, if I messed up the Librarium, Circe was going to skin me alive and use it for book cover. I should find somewhere else to take Raynee to.

Our discreet conversation done, Melanis and I returned to the waiting huntress who seem to have fallen asleep on the couch. Her eyes opened at our arrival.

She stood from her seat and gave a small nod to greet us. 'Took you guys long enough. There's only so long a girl can meditate.' There she went again, formal gestures, casual words.

'You don't even like meditating. Just be honest and say you were sleeping,' said Melanis.

'I wasn't! It takes a lot more than boredom for me to take a nap.' Indignant, she straightened the folds of her dress to pent her frustration.

'Yeah, yeah. Suuure.' The girl bristled at Melanis's reaction. However, before she can say anything in her defence, Melanis continued to speak. 'Anyway, you will be pleased to learn that dear Balthazar here agreed to give you the tour around the City of Vale.'

I did what? 'Melanis! This wasn't...' A pair of hand clenched one of mine. It was Raynee, with pure unadulterated joy radiant on her face.

'Thank you, thank you, thank you! I have never had tour around the City before! My father had forbidden me to trouble any academy staff or team members, saying being such inconveniences were unbecoming of a lady. Ignis insisted it wasn't any trouble but father's word was quite clear...' She prattled on a bit longer but by this point I was too distracted by her proximity to register the words. Did I mention by any chance she was really pretty?

'Ahem.' Melanis coughed, shaking me out of my distracted state. Holy crap, Balthazar. You're better than this. Get. A. Grip.

His cough took her out her excitement as well. She realised how close she was to me and extracted her hands. Then, somewhat predictably, she bowed in apology. 'I'm sorry! That was so freaking rude of me. I hope I didn't offend you or anything.' Her eyes were cast down and she looked as if she really felt wretched for what she had just done.

This was starting to get weird. At first I thought her formal demeanor was simply an act, or at least conscious. Now I was starting to feel that this way of behavior was the norm for her. I reflected on what Melanis had said moments ago. "_Her upbringing had focused heavily upon the high class aspect of our fine civilization. However, her tutors apparently failed to account for the mundane and numerous peasants' way of life" _ he said. Now I saw what he meant.

Hmm. Either that or this was all just some really elaborate act.

What? It's my nature to be suspicious.

Melanis patted me in the shoulder. 'Take good care of her, Balthazar. If she returns hurt, you'll have to answer to her father and that man is one hell of an individual. He makes me sane in comparison.' His gripped the both of us with a hand on shoulder each and shoved us out of the room. 'And as much I would love you guys around, I do have other plans. Buh-bye now.' The door to his office slammed shut.

Leaving me with the huntress alone. Ugh. As I glimpsed at Raynee with her eager expression and enthusiastic gleam in her eyes, I wondered whether I might have bitten off more than I could chew.

I fervently hoped nothing happened in town.

'Come on, Raynee. Let's go to the City,' I invited her.

'Super!' A look of concern appeared on her face. 'Would you be embarrassed if I went there dressed this casually?'

I took another look at the couple thousand lien clothing she wore as I thought about her words. 'I think you're dressed fine.' Her face lit up like a star.

So this is how it feels to babysit.

-x-x-x-x-

**AN: So originally, I was not hoping to divide this thing into 2 parts. However, the things I want to add simply cannot be done in 6000~7000 words. Meaning it's too long for 1 chpt. **

**So finally, the second original team starts to rear their head. Well, to be honest, I've mentioned them in passing in some chpts back. Team IVRY has been in my head for awhile now, as my trusty story idea developer knows (you know who you are). They are not integral to the story plot prime maximus mainly because the story plot maximus is for Team BLAC. In fact, the main reason Team IVRY was born was because I could get more leeway with what I can do in the academy without touching canon characters this way.**

**Next few chpts will be a bit on the low on action side but in a five to seven chpts, sth will happen. **

**Also, december comes, meaning my freedom comes. I can (probably) get chpts out faster.**

**But only if Skyrim does not grip me. I'll try my best.**

**On a side note, if you guys have ideas what the two can do in the city, I would love it. Try to keep in mind how naive Raynee is and try to orientate the story that way, if you can. Thanks!**

**Cheers.**


	13. Chapter 13: A Damsel to Destress: part 2

****DISCLAIMER: Those that ought to belong to others shall belong to their respective owners. Those that ought to belong to me, if any, shall belong to me.****

**AN: I screwed up so bad. Totally misjudged how to spread out the chapter. Hahahaha. That's what happens when you try to write without prior planning people. Lesson learned.**

**As you might have figured out, this chpt is tad long. I hope it's interesting. I pray.**

-x-x-x-x-

A Damsel to De-stress: part 2

It was the first airship ride ever since the patrol – barring the return trip from the forest after that episode – and I was firmly determined to not put on my seat belt. You know what they say; fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. For some reason though, the flight crew was less than pleased with my perfectly rational decision. They expressed their opinion on the matter and folded away my firm determination with their rules and regulations.

As soon as it was acceptable for me to walk about, I unclasped the buckle and released myself.

It was going to be awhile before I trusted seat belts on airships.

With the exception of during take-offs and landings, it was permitted for the passengers to walk about in the airship. I did just that, Raynee following suit. Airships were worth looking around, if only to mitigate any boredom one might have just sitting.

I cracked open a can of soda and sipped it as my eyes fell upon the view out the window. The forest whittled past underneath, laying out a carpet of green. I gazed out at it for awhile, appreciating the lovely scene, before getting bored. Scenery really doesn't appeal to me as it did to some people.

Raynee, apparently, was one of such people. Her eyes were glued to the world below, sparkling with undisguised delight. 'Look how many trees there are. Isn't it so pretty?' she asked.

'Oh. Uhm... Sure. I guess it's pretty.' I was thinking of where to go while in Vale when she had shot her question and was unable to muster a proper response. My dearth of enthusiasm must have been obvious, even to her, because her gaze was now on me.

'Are you upset I dragged you all the way to the city?' worry decorated her face.

This time I was better prepared. 'No. Not at all,' I replied with a bit more spirit injected in my voice. 'I was just wondering where we ought to go in the city. Do you have anywhere you wish to go?'

'Oh, I know.' She pulled out a slip of paper from her pocket. It looked weathered, as if often used. She unfolded the paper delicately, as if scared it might tear.

'What's that?' I asked.

'It's a list of places Ignis recommended I should go to in the city.' It was the Ignis guy again. He was probably her partner or something.

'So where does it suggest?'

Her eyes ran across the paper in her hand. 'Let's see. How about a strip club?' I expelled the beverage I was drinking.

Cough. Cough. What the hell. Did she just say what I think she did? 'What did you just say?' I asked for confirmation as I started wiping the soda stain on the floor with my handkerchief.

'A strip club. Ignis was always excited about that place.'

'Do you know where that is?' I already knew what her answer was going to be.

'From the way he described it, it sounds like a place where dancers perform for the spectators. That's like an artistic performance, right?' If she wasn't looking so earnest as she said it, I would have roared with laughter. In fact, I was able to notice the nearby eavesdropping huntsmen from their barely controlled laughter. Seeing the genuine clueless expression on her face though, all I could do was sigh. Maybe this is how having a younger sister is like.

I lead her by the arm to a more secluded location, flipping a finger to any who mocked our leaving. 'Where else does it suggest on the list?' I had a sneaking suspicion what sort of list this was.

'Uhm.. Let's see. A casino; don't know what that is but it sounds cool. A dog den; must be a petting zoo or something. And some place called Madam Valice's Pleasant Compa...' I snatched the list from her fingers and took a look.

Hooo boy. We were definitely not using this list. 'Who the hell is this Ignis fellow anyway?' The list was funny at first – in a perverted sense of humor – but if this guy had been serious when he recommended these places to Raynee, the whole situation was going to take a whole lot humorless perspective.

'He's my partner. Leader of Team IVRY,' her smile got wider at mention of the huntsman.

'And he recommended these places to you?' My opinion on her partner was this close to hitting all time low.

A slight crease formed above her eyes as she contemplated my question. 'Well, yes... Actually, I'm not sure. He is always a bit of a goof, pulls a lot of pranks. I spend most of my time with him making sure he doesn't get himself into more trouble. When we were making this list, he seemed to be in his joking mood. He even crumpled the list after we were done discussing and threw it away.'

Ah, that should explain why the paper was so worn. 'So then why is the list still here?' Her partner hadn't been serious. I reset my opinion of him back to neutral.

Her eyes met mine briefly before darting away. She seemed to be unsure about something. 'I... I didn't know where are the places to visit in the City so I thought if I ever got to go here, I could use the list as a guideline of sorts.' She paused before muttering, 'did I do something wrong?'

I had to exert all my will so as to not facepalm myself. Instead, I just simply replied with, 'not really. It's just that these places aren't really the best places to hang out in town,' especially for a girl of her standing and ignorance. I was going to need to keep a close watch on her once we got there. 'Why don't we come up with our own destination?'

'Alright then. Where do you want to go?' she asked.

I would want to go back to my dorm and sleep, I thought. However, I said no such thing. Instead, like a responsible man who honored his words like I was, I considered my options.

Only to realise that I had no idea where to take her.

Look, I was a thief most of my life. The places I frequented were hardly suitable for Raynee. You can't blame me if I had to think harder to find a possible place.

There must be few places we could go. It wasn't like every waking moment of my life before Beacon had been illegal. I had my moments of respectable law abidance as well.

I considered watching a movie before immediately dismissing the notion. Once, on our day off, I had organized that for Harmony and myself. My face still heat up from the scorn she gave me. Apparently, she viewed movies as a lazy man's method to keep a girl entertained. I didn't know how other girls felt about cinema but it didn't matter; I no longer was comfortable with cinemas.

Next thing that popped to my mind was arcade but I dismissed that notion soon afterwards as well. I was never really an arcade person. The city had some really good arcades with top-of-the-line equipment that granted hyper realistic experiences. Such experiences terrified me to the core. There was something about fighting against a technologically advanced or a parasitic alien races in a seemingly realistic environment that just made me break out in cold sweat. No arcade for me, thanks.

I would have gone to the mall except I wanted to return to my dormitory before the sun fell. I knew of the detrimental effect a mall had on girls; it rendered them unable to feel the passage of time. Mall was right out.

Library? Dust shop? Zoo? All of these sounded so boring. I needed something better.

'Uhm...' Raynee murmured. I looked at her and she flinched away. At first I thought she was afraid of me for some reason, then I put two and two together and figured out that she was just feeling guilty for interrupting my thoughts. A sliver of pleasure sparked; I was getting really good at getting a read on her.

'Yes?' I made the tone as friendly as possible, so as to not discourage her.

'I thought you might want to know the airship is reaching the city harbor.' What she didn't say was to ask where we were going in the city. She hid it well enough but I was a competent enough reader of body language to pick up on the signs. What I read made me uncomfortable, because I still didn't have an idea where to go.

'Thanks, Raynee. I'll come up with a place to go real quic...'

A stomach growled, distinctively loud and clear, bringing our conversation to a halt. I looked arounding the surroundings wondering whether the noise came from. It wasn't me. My eyes fell onto my companion and I noticed that her face was getting more crimson. 'Are you hungry?' I asked.

On hindsight, that was really tactless. It should have been obvious that calling out on her rumbling stomach would be embarrassing for somebody such as her. Still, I didn't expect her to take it that badly.

She turned and bolted. At full sprint. And she was really, really fast.

'Raynee, wait!' I called out to the retreating figure who disappeared into the swirl of people. I lost precious ten seconds waiting for her to return before making an instinctive understanding that she was not going to.

For Remnant's sake. Why are things never easy?

I chased after her.

-x-x-x-x-

Some people just take things far too seriously.

When I was eight, there had been a new restaurant opening in a corner of the commercial district. I was still an unaffiliated street rat then, not yet under the wing of the Maker. That is to say, I was starving half the time, and was hungry during the other half.

That restaurant owner was new to the city, having earned enough to buy a passage to Vale from a town that was much less safer. In such a place, he would not have met many homeless children. They would never have survived long enough to steal. So he had no way of knowing how vexing beggars are.

Such business owners' establishments were prime targets for the hungry children of the street. These buildings were easier to break into until the entrepreneurs wised up to purchasing the appropriate level of surveillance necessary.

So this guy in particular had had a few nights of unwelcome visits when I graced his stall with my presence. He was less than thrilled to see me. He jumped on me when my guard was down and gave me a walloping likes of which I've never received. I was lucky enough to get away with no permanent injuries.

The most I could eat for the next five days were soupy substances. Or food stuff that were chewed by others until they were soft enough. Don't ask how I know.

Anyway, the purpose of this anecdote is that some people simply overreact at times. The royal whopping the shopkeeper gave me was definitely not worth the bag of chips and the bottle of juice I had helped myself at the time. Sure he had the right to be mad at me but did he have a right to beat me to an inch of my life? Had our roles been reversed, I know I wouldn't. Overreaction should be considered a crime.

Raynee was being too dramatic. Say what you will about me being insensitive to other people's shortcomings. A growling stomach is no excuse to lead a guy into a fifteen minute chase.

She was moving at a speed a girl in heels had no business moving in. The speed I was pushing myself in was reminiscent of my high speed chase days so I knew we were moving fast.

I had given up trying to resolve this situation silently five minutes ago. 'Raynee! For Remnant's sake, stop for a second!' I grimaced as her running quickened another notch. Maybe screaming at her to stop was not going to accomplish what I wanted.

I kept my mouth shut and redoubled my efforts. Speed was one thing I took pride in; I would be damned if I let a girl in a dress outrun me. Without my shouts broadcasting my location, I would have a better chance to apprehend her.

My quasi-plan semi-worked. Being stealthy, I was able to close the gap between us as I deftly waded through the human traffic. Her rainbow hair worked against her, ensuring I could spot her even in this crowd. Before long, I was close enough to grab her. And I did.

Our eyes met. Hers got wide in surprise. I was barely able to mutter, 'will you stop runni...' before I was blasted to a side wall by a wave of frost. It wasn't a hard blow or anything;, I barely felt the impact. However, it was helluva disorienting.

And extremely aggravating.

'Ugh.' I hissed as the world began to right itself. I could see the retreating figure of Raynee as she once more disappeared in the crowd – which had gathered to enjoy the spectacle Raynee had created – with a staff in her hand. I snarled at the spectators before hastily leaving the scene. By now I was annoyed as all hell, and vowed to catch the huntress no matter what it took.

Instead of just simply pursuing her like a vanilla huntsman cadet though, I needed to be smart. What did I have in this noggin of mine that could help me catch a lady almost as fast as me?

The answer clicked immediately: flanking.

The problem was; flanking was usually done with at least two people. One to give chase and one to approach the target at an different angle to box him into a corner. I did not have a teammate – in fact, the person I was chasing was the teammate – so to employ this strategy was not an option.

Other than flanking, what else did I have?

Well, the best way to catch a prey as a lone man would be by luring her into a trap. From that strand of thought, an idea took hold and gained flight.

One of the habit I picked up while being a thief was to get familiar with the layout of anywhere I entered. The anywhere usually referred to buildings but did extend to forests, narrow alleyways full of dubious activities and vehicles. Academy airship blueprints weren't really the sort of thing lying about so to accommodate that, I had visited all the accessible rooms until a mental map had been imprinted into my mind. I tried to invoked it. Inconveniently, my memory was not eidetic like Alex's so it took some seconds to bring out the memory.

The airship's interior looped around like a ring, or a doughnut. No matter how long I dogged after the huntress she had room to evade me indefinitely. The first order of business was to ensure I got her was to cut off the escape route. In airships like these, the rooms were designed to be capable of being sealed off in cases of hull breaches. You can bet something that's airtight was definitely tight enough to block a girl.

Something like this is both heavily and lightly controlled. If I were to activate the compartment lockdown through the airship system, that would raise a whole world of alarm to all the relevant personnel, a group of people in which I was certainly not included. This was the heavily controlled part. The lightly controlled part is the fact that airlock could be manually triggered.

It was rather logical when you thought about it. If you needed to use this feature, it probably meant you were in some real deep shit of a situation. And such situation tended to be one where every second counted. Having these doors manually operable would probably save more lives.

My current situation was a crisis of sorts, I told myself. I definitely had no qualms using the thing. However, I couldn't simply press the magic button and expect to get away with it. The switch would need a few personal touches before it was fit for use.

First, I sought out the surveillance cameras and disabled them. Usually, that would have meant feeding it a loop but today – since I was not kitted for infiltration at the moment – it just meant making it shorted out with a touch of malfunction.

I was on the clock now. The malfunction was guaranteed to be noticed. With haste, I approached the manual control. Ignoring the warning sign that informed that the button was meant only during emergencies, I pried open the casing that housed the circuitry underneath and examined the wiring. A grin broke out on my face. They were using standard color coding for their wires. I knew exactly which wires to destroy. I laid my fingers on the select wires and let my semblance to its job.

It was an easy task to isolate the airtight door I wanted to turn on from the rest of the airship system, although it probably wasn't going to be easy to fix the damage afterwards. Oh well. Before the minute was out, the door slid down and sealed the corridor. Cries of shock and dismay ran out from the other side by the passengers who suddenly found their way blocked by a door that barred their path.

I dashed in the opposite direction.

When I arrived at the other hand, a small stab of pleasure shot through me when I realised that my plan worked. Raynee was watching the door that hindered her escape with a confused expression on her face – an expression that was mimicked on the faces of others who were similarly obstructed.

I did not call out to her. Nor did I grab hold of her to prevent further escape. By now, I had come to an elucidation that I could not stop her by force. So instead, I walked up to in front of her and waved.

Before she had a chance to run again, I quickly said, 'if you run away again, I would be very offended.'

She seemed torn when she heard my words. I hid my glee as I imagined her inner dilemma. She wanted to get away from me still but her politeness could not abide her to run anymore. Eventually, her politeness won, as she desisted from running and opted to apologise instead. 'I'm so sorry, I ran away from you.' She was giving me a full bow again which was making me feel very awkward.

It didn't help that some of the audience were giving me glares of disapproval, jumping to conclusions about our current situation and assuming I was the bad one for making her submit.

Screw them all; it wasn't as if I liked this particular trait of hers any more than they did.

'It's okay. I'm not mad. I am hungry though. Is there anything you would like to eat?' I guided my new friend away from the crowd, giving an evil eye back to all those who had deigned to judge me without knowing the situation.

She perked up at my question. 'You're hungry? Is there anything you want to eat?' Her manners dictated that she offered me a chance to choose what I wanted to eat but I could tell there was something she had in her mind.

'I'll go with whatever you want to,' I stated chivalrously.

She hesitated, but only slightly. 'Well, I wanna eat some noodles.'

'Noodles it is then,' I agreed. 'Let's go back to our seats, the airship should be landing soon.'

As if on cue, the speaker blared overhead, _'Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. This is your flight captain speaking. This announcement is to inform you that estimated time of arrival to the port of Vale is ten minutes. Please return to your seats and fasten your seat belts.' _

I was about to mention how I was right on cue when the flight captain proceeded to saying, _'we are aware there is a singular compartment lockdown in place. Please be assured that this malfunction is an isolated incident. Investigations are currently underway so as to determine the reason behind this incident. Please do not be alarmed as this is unlikely to affect the rest of the airship. I apologise for the inconvenience caused.' _I coughed uncomfortably at those words. I should have covered my tracks well enough – malfunction is practically untraceable – but that did not prevent a seed of worry to gnawed at my insides.

The rest of the trip to Vale was going to be a tad uncomfortable.

-x-x-x-x-

By the grace of Fortune, nothing happened.

That is, if you disregard my pounding heart. I swear, I thought I would collapse from a heart attack whenever a member of the flight crew walked past me. In the end though, they never even suspected me. Not yet, anyway. When I returned from this field trip, I was going to need to set some insurances.

That was business for later. For now, lunch awaited.

The Fishy Place might be my favorite place to fill up a hungry stomach but it did not dabble with noodles. For such delicacies, I frequented a simple stall by the name of A Simple Wok Noodle House. It was affordable – which translated to cheap in my dictionary – and delicious. It might be a bit shabbier than what she was used to but then again, Melanis would not have asked me as a babysitter if he had wanted high class catering.

From the way she was gobbling up the bowls, I doubted that she was going to complain. She had the look of a girl who had never tasted anything as good as what she was eating now; although I highly doubted that was the case.

After finishing her third bowl, she finally looked content. She looked around the small stall, taking in the environment. Her movements caused a flurry of twitches from many male customers in the restaurant who had been stealing glimpses at her. I inwardly smirked at the funny scene.

The lady of the hour was, of course, oblivious to the attention she was grabbing. I took another close look at the girl sitting by my side and was immensely delighted to discover that her allure had abated significantly. It seemed going through such a hassle at start of our little adventure kicked most of her glamor out of me.

'Is there something on my face?' Raynee asked, self-consciously wiping her mouth. Her question shook me out of my reverie. Kicked most of her glamor out of me my ass. I hurriedly kept my view of less intoxicating things such as the empty bowl noodles that rested on the table in front of me.

'There's nothing on your face,' I answered, not caring whether it was true or not.

Being Raynee, she trusted my words despite the fact that I wasn't even looking at her direction when I answered. 'Cool. Can I have another bowl?' The shop owner perked at her words and began to prepare another bowl before hearing my answer.

Irritation surged briefly but I kept it down. I knew the vendor was a good person. He was a bit eager at times but was a nice person nonetheless. 'Uncle, another for the lady please,' I ordered unnecessarily. He nodded his affirmation.

The noodles were done quickly and she enthusiastically dug in instantly upon its arrival. I left her at it thinking about some important affairs.

I pondered about where to go after this.

-x-x-x-x-

As our meal came to a conclusion and we roamed the streets of Vale without a destination in mind, our emotions differed. She was happy – that was pretty much her default mood – and content. I, on the other hand, was still undecided about where to go and was feeling snarky about it.

A car horn blared from the road, interrupting my train of thoughts. I muttered some words not fit for the ears of children and resumed my previous action, cursing the vehicle and his driver. Raynee shot me a curious look and I mastered my tongue before she expanded her vocabulary.

Another round of horns rang through the air, driving me into a mood foul enough to let Fiasco discharge. With a sigh of exasperation I took a look at the car that was making all this ruckus. Someone better be dying.

Okay, so that was a bit mean. Shoot me. I was grumpy.

The honking was coming from a luxury car fetching up to two million lien in the legal market; and this was not including the various customized jobs it had done to make it look even fancier. The driver was a guy of the lanky sort, dressed in a suit that just screamed wealth to all with eyes. His tailored clothes were at discord with his face though; wealth did not sit well with him as it did with Raynee.

Having caught the attentions of two of us, his car horn was silenced. Another surge of irritation flared as I realised that the whole noisy affair was for our benefit.

The rat-face dropped the roof of the car and called out to my companion. 'Hey there sweet thing. Need a ride?' I groaned. He was that sort.

Raynee, who was not wise to the ways of the world and was not aware the man before us was simply a waste of biomass and oxygen, viewed his offer as a gesture of friendship. 'For real? Thanks a bunch!' she said and gave the driver a curtsy, once more displaying her tendency to behave formally with an informal diction.

The driver replied, 'yeah. Uhm. Sure, whatever. Just ditch that loser and hop in.'

'Oh, but I can't simply leave Balthazar. He's my guide to the city,' she answered. I didn't know which irritated me more; the fact this faggot called me a loser or that Raynee picked up immediately who he was referring to.

'Let me guide you. I promise I'm a much more _pleasant _company than that sack of rags,' he drawled, his sleazy quality in full force. His contempt for me was not even subtle.

This guy needed to be taught a lesson.

I stepped forward and rested my hand on the hood of his car.

The driver protested, 'hey, don't touch that! That's worth more than two of your lifetimes!'

I ignored his protest and addressed Raynee. 'Raynee. Would you wait for me over there?' I pointed at a bend in the pedestrian walkway some distance away, 'I'm gonna have a quick chat with this piece of shi... this gentleman here.'

'Sure thing.' She strolled to the area I mentioned. With her gone, I turned my eyes on the driver and dropped all facade of politeness.

He must have noticed the change because all of sudden he seemed to be anxious about locking gaze with me. 'Fuck this, man. I ain't got anything to say to you.' He tried to change gear and drive away.

Nothing doing, however. I've already rendered his engines useless. I walked briskly to the door and laid my hand on the door handle. It broke under my caress, trapping the man within unless he deigned to jump out of his vehicle. How undignified that would have been, eh? He wasn't that desperate... yet.

'Good afternoon, I see you have a lot to say about my value,' I whispered, 'please, do continue. I love learning how much I'm worth from my betters.'

'Sc... screw you, man. Do you know who my father is?' He tried to glare at me, held the eye contact for a second before breaking it away.

I smiled. 'Ah. Your father. Not really. Can't say I do.' I placed a hand on one of his shoulders. 'But then, do you know who my father is?' I asked him in return. I didn't know myself who my father was, of course, but this gobshite didn't know that, did he?

He didn't have an answer, probably gauging the possibility that my illusional father was more influential than his was. I wasn't about to let him get his confidence back though. 'But before we get acquainted with each of our fathers' reputation, let's talk about ourselves, shall we?' I dropped my tone. 'What do you know about me? What do you think I can do?' He was breaking in sweats now. He discreetly attempted to start his engines but they remained unresponsive. I observed how he kept eyeing the door handle.

'You stepped on some real shit, little boy. You should have stuck to your business instead of entering mine. You should have stayed with the little pleasures your daddy's money bought for you.' I ruffled his hair without enough force to make it more than uncomfortable. 'Oh well, at least you have the insurance to cover the damage afterwards, right?' I muttered nonchalantly as I produced a knife and gave it a twirl around my fingers as one might do with a coin.

It was a little trick I had picked up from one of my old job accomplices. It wasn't too hard if your fingers were nimble enough but was quite impressive to look at. He had used it as we were fishing for information from a corporate employee. Sometimes, a promise of pain is more frightening than the actual pain itself.

It certainly worked on this guy. His heartbeat was pumping away and he was just an inch from hyperventilating. A smile broke over my face, and from the reaction he had to it, I knew it wasn't the friendly sort.

Still, the bloke had pride, if nothing else. After a couple failed attempts, he was able to muster a retort. 'You... you're bluffing. Don't think you can get me.'

Ah, but I've already gotten you, dear sir. Wordlessly, I whipped out a grenade and pulled the pin. It began to beep. Once he realised what the object in my hand was, his eyes got wide and his words became incoherent.

I stared at him coldly as I dropped the explosive into the vehicle. It rolled under a seat, becoming hidden from view. The beeping sound still accompanied us though, and its interval steadily got shorter.

'See you around,' I said, then pointedly looked down. 'Or not.' I placed my hand on the storage compartment where the collapsible roof was kept and shot it with malfunction. A roof shot up back into place, just as I wanted it to, instead of frying the whole system – which was just as likely. I chalked up my good luck to the thought that Fortune was giving me a hand with this mischief.

I didn't look back – because that would have ruined the image – but I kept my ears out to listen. A flurry of movements occurred, probably by him trying to leave the car. The roof must have obstructed him as I intended because the struggle went on for a while. Then came his panicked shrieking as the beeping of my grenade merged into themselves into a single continuous mechanical wail.

Then the grenade detonated. He screamed. I turned back to watch.

A loud fanfare resounded in the air and tiny specks of confetti filled up the car. It was hard to make out the driver's face but the little I did recognize transmitted his look of terrified relief. He looked about half a push away from a heart attack so I presumed my lesson teaching was successful.

Time to make myself scarce then. Before he gathered enough wits to consider formulating revenge. I walked towards the direction I sent Raynee off to, all the while replaying the prank in my head with more than a small amount of glee.

This city always did bring out the worst in me.

-x-x-x-x-

I came to the spot I sent her off to. She was not there. Aw, nuts. If I lost her in this city, this was going to be a hell of a misadventure to go around looking for her. Oh joy. Was this Fortune way of taking back after rendering assistance? I hoped she was nearby so that my surprise misadventure was short.

She was nearby, thankfully. After a short dispirited searching, I eventually located her in a more secluded section of the alleyway. She wasn't alone. There was a small kid by her side and they were engaged in a conversation. I wasn't near enough to hear it but from what I could see, they were talking about a tiny item on the palm of Raynee's hand. I tried to figure out what the object was but it was too small. Instead, I opted to examine the stranger.

I could tell instantly he was a street rat. He was trying to disguise it but the signs were apparent. Slight undernourishment, dirt patches on the skin and constant lookout on his surroundings; I remembered all these. I doubled my pace, knowing the kid wasn't speaking with Raynee for the sake of a pleasant conversation.

The kid spotted me first. Following his gaze, Raynee looked. Her face lit up with recognition and she said a few more words to her new friend, who put on an alarmed expression. She turned her attention to me – probably to give me a proper greeting – and that was when the little thief struck. He snatched the object from her hands and bolted.

'Hey wait!' Raynee called out. It didn't work though. How surprising.

I ran to her sides in a jiffy and we both began to give chase.

'What did he steal?' I asked. Ugh. I was not in the mood for chasing down another thief now.

'He took my ring.' A ring? Hold on a goddamn minute. If the ring was approximately of value level of rest of her wardrobe, I could cheat the system a bit.

I halted my pursuit and turned to her. 'How much is your ring?'

She paused in thought. 'I think I heard it being almost fifteen thousand lien.' I wasn't even surprise by the number.

In fact, the number cheered me immensely. There was no need to run after the brat after all. 'There's no need to follow the kid.'

'But my ring...' Oh, she was actually quite upset at its loss. The ring must be important to her.

'I can get you that ring back in a few weeks. Will that be okay?' I hope she could wait a few weeks. If she wanted the thing back immediately, I was going to cry.

Thankfully, she was content hearing that I'll get her ring back. 'Awesome.' She adjusted her attire, wiping away the rumples in the dress. She expertly fixed her attire in a matter of seconds. Once in order, she asked, 'the kid stole my ring, didn't he?'

I shot her a surprised expression then chided myself. Melanis said Raynee was naive, not stupid. She knew the concept of thieves and whatnot. She was having her first brush with the real world and was learning.

And guess what? It felt extremely gratifying I was the cause of her education.

'Yes, he did.' I wasn't going to hide things when she was arriving on the truth.

'So how are you going to get it back without catching him?'

I grinned in a predatory manner. 'I have my ways.'

She flinched just a tiny bit. 'Will you... will you hurt him?'

Oh. I guess she was worried about his safety. I wouldn't have cared about welfare of anybody who robbed me if I was in her shoes. Still, no reason to tell her that. 'I don't think I'll even need to see him.' That was true enough.

'Ah. That's good. But... then how will you find the ring?'

'That, Raynee, is a trade secret.'

She frowned in curiosity but did not push.

Her prim and proper mannerism was so fun to tease at. 'Come on, Raynee. I finally got an idea where to go.'

-x-x-x-x-

I assure you, at the start of this session, I would never have foreseen myself bringing her here. However, after realising that she could be taught to become wiser to the world, I was gripped by an urge to broaden her horizons.

That is why we went to a night club that belonged to a friend of mine.

As clubs went, Junior's club was pretty civilized. He was a marketman to the core, having a couple of his fingers dipped in quite a handful of illegal pies. However, his club was as legitimate as they came, since it was his shield of facade to the authorities as well as his mean of extending his social network of regular citizens of Vale.

He kept order in his club with his henchmen. If I could invoke his protection, I knew Raynee would be safe. I wished the protection wouldn't be necessary though. At this time of the day, there was going to be less people around. However, the people who were going to be present were going to be the sort who had money enough to afford clubbing in the day, and they tended to be bad eggs most of time. I was not going to take anything for granted.

The bouncer at the gate acknowledged my entry with a nod – he knew me by reputation, I guessed because we certainly had not met before – and we were inside without too much trouble. The first thing I noticed about the club was that there had been a complete interior overhaul. That was odd. I know Junior did change the décor from time to time but it was too soon. The preceding interior redecoration was eight months ago. Hmm. Something must have happened.

None of my business though. Among the list of purposes I had, wondering about his club was not inside. I made way to the bar, leading the deeply curious Raynee by the hand before too many guys noticed her.

Junior had noticed me, of course. He had not yet addressed me verbally, because he was smart enough to assume that my companion might not know me as Breaker. That was also why he had not concocted my favorite drink as he usually did. That was unfortunate for me because I really liked that drink.

Junior had a head for operating in the undermarket, although he may not display such level of intelligence in other areas – like with girls.

I greeted him, 'Good afternoon Mr Junior. Do you still remember me? I'm Balthazar: Mr Glacius's nephew. I think we met once.' With this simple sentence, I conveyed to him that he should call me by Balthazar, and that we were pretending to be acquaintances who barely knew each other. It would have seemed strange to Raynee if we were well acquainted, considering my age.

'Balthazar, Balthazar.' He pretended to delve into his memories. 'Oh yeah, I remember you. How's Mr Glacius faring? His business doing good?

'He is fine, sir. As with his business.'

'Good, good. He still owes me money for that poker game we last had,' he mentioned pointedly. I had not yet paid him for the last poker game we had.

Ignoring his reminder, I introduced Raynee. 'Raynee and I had some time free to ourselves so I thought to show her the best club in town.'

'I see you got eyes to see what's good,' Junior replied. It might have sounded as if he was responding to my praise, but what he actually was saying was "what are you doing with this gorgeous girl?" I shot him a look that gently rebuked his unspoken question and politely informed him Raynee was off-limits.

He flinched.

'You want a drink, Balthazar?' he asked, trying to disguise his involuntary flinch as a movement in preparation for my favorite drink.

As tempting as the drink was, I declined. My drink was strong and now was not the time of the day to be walking around drunk.

'One for the lady?' He offered, eyeing my companion with as much curiosity as appreciation.

Before I could refuse, she piped, 'the cosmopolitan, please.' I had no idea what that was but apparently Junior did because he began concocting a drink right away.

I asked her, 'how do you know of that drink?'

'My father let me have some taste of it before. He's quite fond of cocktails.' I didn't know what to think of that statement, so I didn't say a word.

As she enjoyed her drink, I organized my thoughts about what to do. Once the order of events I needed to perform were arranged to my satisfaction in my mind, I got to executing them. I signaled at Junior to keep an eye on Raynee and made my way to the Malachite twins.

The twins and I were friends – in the same way Junior and I were friends – although you would never have known it by looking at our interactions. Most people assumes the girls were just trophy girls Junior kept around to keep the eyes of his male customers satisfied but then most people were stupid. I know their roles, they knew I knew, and we respected each other for it.

'Hey there, Melanie, Miltia.' I said by a way of greeting. Militiades barely gave me a glance while Melanie flat out ignored me. I frowned; these reactions were normal had I been a stranger to them. Usually they acknowledged me a bit more warmly, like with a single nod or a simple 'mmm?' in exchange for my greetings. For some reason, they were miffed at me.

I thought I had an idea why.

Feigning ignorance at their aloofness, I prattled on. 'I need a favor, girls. Spare me a moment?' I said cheerfully without overdoing it. Didn't want to seem patronizing now, did I? Their reception was still frosty but I didn't take it to heart and continued on. 'Could you please get that girl off my hands? At least while I'm in the club.' I injected misery as I made my request.

The girl in question was Raynee, of course. I did want her to get a good taste of this night club and the best way to went about doing that was to hand her into the custody of the twins. This way, I would get to avoid hostile looks from other guys and also manage to provide the greatest protection possible within this building to the huntress.

Melanie and Miltia took the bait, owing to the fact that I was a superb actor. They were interested now, although it was well masked by a veil of indifference they were fronting.

Melanie droned, 'what is it, Breaker?' with as much interest as Lestia would have shown at knitting.

'A jerkface pressed me into babysitting that girl and it's driving me nuts. She's so dumb she can't spell the word.' I felt bad about badmouthing Raynee but made sure the emotion didn't show.

'Screw off, Breaker. You wouldn't be able to get a girl like her if you tried,' Melanie muttered.

Miltia spoke to her sister, 'you would think a guy would show appreciation if a girl like that agreed to stick with him. Men are so selfish.'

Best way to get girls to be friends was to become a common enemy to all of them. I put on an expression of irritation. 'Just give her a tour of this place in my place. I need a break.'

'Whatever,' they agreed.

Before I led them to Raynee, I said, 'by the way, I'm called Balthazar,' so that the twins wouldn't refer to me as Breaker in front of Raynee. They didn't show signs of hearing me but I knew they have.

As the three of us returned to the bar stand, I introduced the three girls to each other before entrusting Raynee into their care. Raynee seemed a bit subdued by the twins' thorny charisma but agreed to go with them nonetheless. They melted into the fold of people soon after, the twins as vanguard.

They would be fine; thorny as the twins might be, they were fair in their own ways. They would be nice to people who were nice to them and Raynee was all about nice. In fact, once Melanie and Miltia figured out just how nice Raynee was, they would scorn me for speaking ill of her and take even better care of her.

I was slightly worried they might tell Raynee the lies I told them but not too much. The twins weren't the type to babble, except to each other.

With the girls gone, I took a seat by the bar and asked for a lime juice. Junior gave me a curious look but didn't question my request. It was ready quickly and I drank the whole thing in a single shot.

'I see you are making friends with the regular sort, Breaker,' he asked. He knew I had a preposition for him and that I would only bring it up when I was willing to.

'Didn't you hear? I'm retired.'

'Oh, I heard, alright. Just didn't believe.'

'Well, believe away. You're looking at one of the latest huntsmen cadets to study in Beacon.'

He roared out in laughter. 'Well, well. Of course it would be you who manage to get himself a chance to become a huntsman.'

I tried to not show it but the flattery forced a smile break out on my face. 'How's Harmony doing?'

'She's keeping low profile. Haven't heard about her for weeks. I did hear she has a kid tagging along though. I guess that's your replacement, huh?' I nodded my affirmation.

I had another glass of lime juice and set it down with a clang. Junior looked up, knowing I was about to discuss business. 'I want to rent your guys,' I said.

'How many, how long?'

'Thirty, three months.'

He looked at me in disbelief.

'You heard about the Grimm with bounty that died in Forever Fall?' I asked.

'Yeah, I heard two Beacon kids killed it. The academy refused to release the their identities to mass media though.'

'Well, you're looking at one of them.'

He paused for half a minute. 'No fucking way.'

'Way,' I replied. I didn't blame his disbelief. I wouldn't have believed it either if I hadn't done it.

'Anyway, what does that have to do with my men?'

'I want your guys to patrol the northern border of the City for awhile.'

'No way,' he declined.

'Look, I'm not asking you to fight any Grimm. I just want your guys to keep a lookout to see if any of them is coming and let the right people know about it in time. And maybe let the street kids that live in the abandoned buildings escape in time while you're at it.'

Junior looked as if he still wanted to refuse, but was only considering my offer because of the mention of the children. He didn't look happy about it though. 'How much are you paying?'

'A safehouse in the upper-class district.'

Surprise surfaced on his face. 'You're lying.'

'Nope.' I meant it.

Junior attempted to look as if he was reconsidering my offer but I knew he was sold. A safehouse in the upper-class district was highly coveted. It was literally a safe haven because the authorities were reluctant to chase a fugitive into the district in fear of earning the ires of some of the more cranky residents of the district. It would also have served as a base of operations if he wanted to pull heists in the district. Heists in that district tended to have high payouts.

'Does Harmony know about the safehouse?' he asked sensibly.

'Harmony and I are professionals, mate. We each have our own safehouses in that district.' It didn't mean she did not know about the safehouse's location but it did mean she had no access to the building without my consent. Junior was satisfied with my answer.

'What's your game plan, Breaker? Why would you sell away your upper-class district safehouse just to get my guys to patrol the city border?' A marketman is generally suspicious of deals too good to be true.

'Because, Junior, the Grimm are acting weird.' I recalled how Lycan had shown hostility to the other Grimm. According to my admittedly small reservoir of knowledge, Grimm did not kill each other indiscriminately. Something was off, and off things tended to be hazardous to others.

'If they, for some reason, decide to roam to the city from Forest Fall, the first to die would be the street kids. Life may suck for these kids in the City but if they're going to live their sucky lives in one of the Grimm safe havens of the Remnant, the least they deserve is to protected from Grimm. Don't you think so?'

Junior digested my words for a moment. 'You really did retire,' he said at last.

'Yup.'

'I'll give you my guys for six months,' he offered. I gave him a nod of gratitude. 'So our business is concluded?' he clarified.

'There's something else, actually. But that deal is completed.'

'Right then, what else?'

'A street rat stole a ring of my friend earlier this afternoon,' I gestured to Raynee. 'I want you to get it as soon as it hits the undermarket.'

'What if he pawns it above ground?'

'It's worth fifteen thousand. No pawner with quarter a brain would accept it from the rat.' Junior nodded his agreement.

'I can get it done. How much are you offering for this one?'

'Actually, I was giving you the safehouse for both jobs.'

'But I gave you three extra months!' Junior yelled glumly.

I smiled. 'A gift I receive gladly. But my safehouse was for both these jobs.'

Junior muttered somethings under his breath that I could not hear but I had an idea what those were. 'You aren't retired. You're still a thief.'

'Come on, now. You didn't expect me to become too charitable all of a sudden, did you?'

'I guess not,' he said and I knew I had his agreement. 'I want some information in return,' he counteroffered.

Hmm. I was sure he would still honor our bargain if I refused but it wouldn't hurt to hear what he wanted to know. 'Shoot.'

'A girl came a couple weeks back and thrashed my place.' Ah, so that's why the interior were redone. 'I did my own searching but the best I found was that she's in Beacon. I want you to find out who she is and dig around for dirt. See if she has any weaknesses.' He produced his scroll and loaded up a picture before handing it over for me to see the delinquent.

My heart did a double take at sight of Yang Xiao Long.

Junior caught my reaction. 'You know her?'

'For Remnant's sake, don't go after her. It's not worth it,' I advised.

'Don't give me that bullshit. Just because she's strong doesn't mean I can't harm her.' I had no doubt he could. There were many ways to hurt a person. I was trying to prevent these two from hurting each other gravely.

'I know, you can. But she's not worth the trouble. She's like a natural disaster. Ain't nothing to gain from poking at her sides.' The thing was, Junior liked attractive girls. If I could just persuade him into thinking revenge was unappealing, I was sure he would be willing to let the matter go.

'What the hell, man. I can't just let her go, can I? She just barged and crashed my place!' His words were losing conviction though. I was close.

'She's going to be a big shot huntress one day. And in my opinion, it's better to be acquainted with a big shot huntress, no matter how shakily, than to be enemies with her.' That sold it. Hearing from me that she was going to be a high profile figure one day was enough to convince him. Being known to a hotshot huntress was a leverage that could be used in future.

'Fine. I just hope she never comes back then.'

'If she does, don't antagonize her. She might become useful one day.'

He just grunted in response to that. 'I guess we're done for the day then,' he said instead.

'Yup. I guess I'll get Raynee and head to Beacon. I'll have to thank Melanie and Miltia for their help.'

Junior's eyes traveled to behind me. 'I don't think you need to thank them. I think they're enjoying themselves.'

I looked behind to find the twins prompting Raynee to stand up on the stage. The mike was already in the huntress's hands. The Malachite twins were in the process of coaxing her to sing. The twins must have really taken a shine to Raynee, if they were pulling a prank at her expense.

Raynee looked as if she wanted to escape but the twins were unstoppable. Eventually, she submitted and hefted the microphone.

'Looks like we're gonna have a performance,' Junior muttered. 'She good?'

'We're gonna find out,' I answered.

Raynee sang.

And by the gods, she was divine.

-x-x-x-x-

**AN: I fked up so bad with the distribution so badly, making this the longest chpt by far.**

**I hope it was interesting at least. It was a struggle to write but was fun in its own way.**

**So with this, the Raynee arc is concluded. Now I can get back to Balt the student for a while. **

**For the next few chpts, nth big is gonna happen. After that, shld be something semi-large. After all, we are reaching the season 1 finale time frame of original RWBY-verse and I can't let that go with a whisper and indifference, can I?**

**Before I forget, I need to thank so many ppl who suggested all kinds of things for Balt's little 'date' with Raynee. I had a lot of suggestions in both reviews and PMs and I assure you I considered all of them before writing out this chpt.**

**Sadly, I suck at writing romances (I kid you not) and that extends to writing out dates. 'Tis true. 'Tis the greatest shame of mine. I am rly bad at romances. But that's my issue I guess.**

**The next chpt would hopefully finish its arc in 1 chpt. However, it might be long tho. I hope not.**

**Any reviews are welcome. Any ideas even more so. I haven't had flames so far (or am too dumb to recognize it) and I ain't asking for it but if you must, do what you must.**

**Cheers, ppl.**


	14. Chapter 14: Story for the Soul

****DISCLAIMER: Those that ought to belong to others shall belong to their respective owners. Those that ought to belong to me, if any, shall belong to me.****

**AN: Hey guys. This chapter is finally here. Did you know it remembered the time wrongly and missed the deadline by god knows how long? I wagged my finger in reprimand so hopefully it would wake up its idea. Without further ado. Please enjoy. **

-x-x-x-x-

Story for the Soul

Harmony once told me that if the night was a humanoid entity and I was a married man, my wife would file for divorce on the charge of adultery within the first week of our marriage. In retort, I accused her of being poetic. Harmony laughed at my biting riposte and shrugged it off indifferently, knowing the truth of her words. I always felt more alive when the shattered moon was lighting the sky.

Of course, ever since I've gotten to the academy, I wasn't able to indulge in any late night goings. The lessons were, most regrettably, scheduled in accordance to the rising of the sun and that left me with only the night time for sleeping.

Tonight though, tonight was different. The night was not at all young, in its most appealing stage of growth. Each night, there was a niche timing when even the rowdiest of the party-goers were mostly slumbering and yet the earliest of the workers still had a leeway before waking. This was when night was at its most seductive.

It felt wondrous to be doing this again. Oh, I know, I know. I always claimed to be retired. I mean, technically, I wasn't stealing anything so I guess I could insist I wasn't being a thief. The thrill of sneaking around though? Absolutely intoxicating.

What a pity I couldn't be doing this in a happier circumstance.

-x-x-x-x-

_**Six hours earlier,**_

'Melanis! If you intend to kill me, get it fucking done and end my misery!' I screamed as shrilly as my vocal cords could manage as I dodged the bullet storm the combat drones sent my way. I brandished the penultimate EMP grenade in my arsenal and tossed it at the largest fustercluck of drones I could see.

'Oh no, Balthazar. You got it all wrong. It's not about killing you. It's about sending a message,' the Professor of Combat Tactics muttered gleefully.

'And what the fuck does that mean?' The surviving drones ramped up their rate of fire, as if taking revenge for their fallen comrades. My voice barely traveled above the racket produced by the gunfire.

**Be-beep.** Aw fuck. A drone had a lock on me. This was bad. I needed to lose the tracking or it was a matter of time before they got me. At least it was just one drone. Fortune forbid this mechanical horde got hold of my signatu...

**Be-beep. Be-beep. Be-beep. Be-beep. Be-beep. Be-beep... **Before long, every discernible drone in my vicinity blurted out the mechanical alert.

I hate my life.

'Fine, you got me. What do you want from me?' I yelled out to the madman in defeat.

Melanis stepped out of the darkness and approached me threateningly. 'I want nothing from you, Balthazar, except your understanding. You will NEVER AGAIN pull down a lockdown on a ship and direct the flight crew to my doorstep. Do you understand?' He looked genuinely miffed as he said that.

Hehehe. Oops, I had forgotten about that incident. I guess the airship personnel finally took bait of the false evidences I had planted and had not been nice about handling their presumed delinquent.

It was not easy, I assure you. In fact, it was brilliant – although I had a sneaking suspicion Melanis did not see it that way. However, Melanis was infuriated to the point I decided that it was safer not to poke at his temper further. 'Yes, Melanis. I got your message.'

'Good. Then this lesson is over. Get out.' I obeyed, vowing not to be in the professor's sight until this whole thing blew over.

When I returned to the dormitory room, I was beat. I pushed the door open, forced myself to trudge the few steps to my bed and collapsed face first.

'Sup.' Alex greeted, steering away from his – one-sided – conversation with Circe. I lifted my hand to acknowledge but he was already back to poking her side to interrupt her reading. Alex was a much braver man than I.

It was good to see them relaxed. Lately, with all the hype about the upcoming tournament for the Vytal Festival, the rest of my team were fixated on training. Myself? Well, I tried, but I simply could not bring myself to be enthusiastic about an extra opportunity to get beaten to a pulp by huntsmen and huntresses much stronger than me. I was not very big on unnecessary fighting. Good thing the tournament was not compulsory. I probably wouldn't qualify even if I tried.

Anyway, back to the topic of my team members and their training.

Alex was hitting the training grounds with tyrannical disposition, leaving behind a trail of broken cadets in his wake who were unlucky enough to be in the same area as he was. You would figure by now it would be a bad idea to challenge or accept a challenge from one of the strongest cadets in the year. I guess that's why life expectancy of an average huntsmen was so low.

Circe was delving into a more customized training. Circe was stronger than a lot of people but also had more weaknesses in her defence. From what I could tell, most of her time was spent fortifying these breaches. All in all, I agreed with her sentiment. Rarely do I see her overpowered with ease. Most of her losses could be chalked up to her enemy exploiting one of her weaknesses, such as causing her shock when she was mentally strained with holding her Links in place. With each day, she chipped away at her weaknesses with precision. I looked forward to seeing how she would have improved by the time the qualifiers came around.

Now on to the ever pleasant partner of mine. She was as unpredictable with her training as she was in life. One day she would start carrying out a week-long strength training only to switch to stamina training the day after, abandoning the remaining six days. Oh well, Lestia was Lestia. She probably knew what she was doing.

An unexpected weight jumped right onto my back, jarring my spine and generating a stream of profanity from yours truly.

'Lestia. What the hell?' I asked once my vocabulary was back in my control.

'Hi Balty, do me a favor?' She leaned on my back, not in the least showing signs of moving. She was as light as she was petite so I chose to bear her weight instead of making a fuss. It wasn't as if I could have peeled her off unless she wanted to.

'You have a very unique idea of asking for favor.' The words came out slurred, muffled by the pillow I was speaking into.

'Oh Balty, me and the girls will be very pleased if you accepted, and very upset if you didn't.' Lestia retorted.

From the other side of the room, Alex blurted out, 'you've been hanging out with goldie for too long. You're starting to sound like her when you threaten people.'

'Alex, would you please hold your silence?' Circe chided her childhood friend, 'I am in the middle of a perusal. Furthermore, I believe their conversation is private.'

'Yes, ma'am.' He grinned, having accomplished drawing words out of her. He was a man of simple joys.

'Those two are so cute together,' Lestia commented. Cute wasn't exactly the word I had in my mind but I guess it fit. Kind of. I nodded in response.

'So Lestia, mind getting off?' She was still perched on top of me and I wasn't in the best of shape to deal with that right now. I just wanted to die or sleep; whichever came first.

'Well, that depends. Are you gonna do me my favor?' For Remnant's sake. She used to be so much more easier to handle before. Well, actually, not really. She was just as difficult then and now. The difference was that she was more efficient at getting what she wanted.

'Let's hear it first.'

'Nooo. Promise first,' she bawled, which was kind of adorable, although she will never hear me say it. If she was going this far, it must be one shitty job.

You can make me do many things, but walking into a bad deal willingly was not one of them. 'No deal. Tell me what you want and we'll see if I feel like it.'

Lestia grumbled softly but accepted my stance. 'We need you to sneak into Melanis's office and hand in our homework.'

I'll be honest, I was not expecting that. 'You need me to... hand in your homework.'

'Yes. Mine, Ruby's and Yang's. Ruby was supposed to hand it in but then she forgot.'

Was this something involving the field trip? That was the only reason I could think of why Lestia would have worked with another instead of me with a homework. But then again, the field trip was Professor Peach's expedition. Melanis couldn't be giving homework about it, could it?

Confounded, I asked, 'what sort of homework is this? I didn't know you were working with Ruby and Yang on anything.'

'It's just something extra he gave the class while you were in the infirmary. You and Weiss weren't given this because, well, it's about you two.' Oh, I got it. It was about Lycan. That would explain why Lestia and Ruby teamed up. Both would have been without a partner. 'Yang worked with Blake but we borrowed hers for reference.'

'So why were these not handed in on time?'

'Uhm. Ruby was supposed to hand it in. I guess she forgot.' She was biting her lips, meaning she was either lying or omitting something.

'So I need to clean up her mess?' The words came up a bit sharp, my tone grated by the exhaustion.

She turned from above me and wrapped her arms around my neck. In the eyes of a stranger, it might have looked as if she was giving me an affectionate hug; intimate, even. But everyone in the room knew she was just simply choking the life out of me. Usually, I would squirm and protest in resistance just to entertain her but today, I was really tired. When Melanis gets pissed at someone he made sure the perpetrator knew about it. I just stayed in her embrace, enjoying it a bit more than she probably intended.

Realising her usual method of persuasion wasn't working, she let me go and I returned my face to the mattress. 'You really mad?' She was on her back again.

'Not really. Just sleepy.'

'Will you help? Yang will kill us if her homework gets zero because we didn't hand it in.'

I sighed. 'You two sure like to live dangerously.'

'The life flashes past me every time I think of her,' she answered.

I laid still for a minute longer, wishing my new problem away with the will of my mind. Lestia waited patiently, defying my fervent wishing. After I had my fill on delusions of grandeur, I said, 'okay, fine. But I'm keeping tab on this one.'

She gave me a proper hug this time. 'Thank you so much!' Wow, she must have been really scared of Yang.

I pried her off. 'You're getting far too close these days.'

'Don't be a stranger, Balty,' she said cheerfully, not fazed by my rebuke.

'Yeah, Balty, quit being a stranger already.' Alex piped up again, taking a momentarily break from whatever he was doing.

I shot back, 'if I wanted your opinion, Alex, you would have received a written invitation.'

He chuckled. 'Such a stranger.' I just growled softly, audible only to my partner and me.

A question popped to my head. 'What made you think of asking me?' There was no doubt I could do it. However, Lestia didn't know of my previous occupation. What could have prompted her to ask of my service? Had she figured out? A bead of cold sweat broke on my back.

'Blake suggested you.'

'Blake?'

'Yeah. She was the one who reminded Ruby to hand the homework in. When we started panicking, she advised us to seek your help.'

So this meant Lestia was still oblivious. On the other hand, though. It suggested a possibility that Blake had an inkling what I was.

People who were professionally on the wrong side of law tended to be able to sense each other to some degree. I was a shady bastard by nature. Although I managed to hide this fact well enough to con a few marketmen in the past, the astute ones had always sniffed out my dearth of innocence just by glance.

Blake was definitely astute.

Well, I wasn't half bad finding law-benders either. I was fairly sure Melanis was one. Among the students, there were a few like that too. Blake was one of those I had been on the fence with; just the right mix of nice and mean in the bundle. Well, not any more. This action of hers all but confirmed my suspicions about her.

But she was an anomaly I would have to address later. For now, I had a professor's office to break into.

-x-x-x-x-

_**Present hour,**_

Melanis was as paranoid as he was eccentric. Why does anyone buy motion sensors and sound detectors for his academy office? I had broken into corporate offices less guarded than this. What could he possibly have that would warrant such security?

And the jewel of his security was the auto-turret sitting on the ceiling. The various aforementioned sensors served as its eye for it to lock onto any friendly interlopers that happened to be visiting. The turret was armed with nonlethal pellets affectionately named as "lightning pills". To explain them concisely, they were taser stuns in bite sizes. Theoretically, they were nonlethal; that's how they were advertised commercially, anyway. But that was if you looked at its effects in short term – as in, I won't immediately die after being shot – but I would appreciate a medic nearby to take a look at me if I got hit by one.

Twice it had fired upon me. Luckily, I dodged. You know what they say about third times; I wasn't going to tempt it.

Ugh. I just needed to get out of the room. I had already planted the three girls' homework into the appropriate stack by his table. If only I had not accidentally knocked into a furniture after that while eyeing a more expensive piece of furniture. Then the turret would not be operating in full alert.

I could wait until it returned to standby but I was freaking tired. There were still lessons tomorrow and I didn't really function as a homo sapien with less than four hours of sleep. That left me with only twenty minutes to get out of here. No way the alert would subside in that amount of time.

I would really have loved to solve my problems the traditional way – meaning grenades – but that would have left a telltale trace. If a breaking and entering was done with a grenade left behind, everyone with half a brain and quarter a sense who knew me would place his bets on me; though for Melanis's case, it was more likely his gauntlets.

Still, it was just one turret. It couldn't shoot two things at once. And there were many objects in this room that could be persuaded to create motion and noise.

I grinned. I hope Melanis did his own room cleaning.

-x-x-x-x-

I was never doing this again, I thought as I traveled through the air vent I had previously used to enter.

The plan was a success, but it was pyrrhic as all hell. Not only was my duster scorched – so turned out there actually was a second turret, and that one didn't bother too much with the nonlethal bullet nonsense – but the stress on my heart would have been fatal had I been older. Considering I was getting paid jack, this venture was so not worth my time at all.

All these thoughts of self-pity and complaints flooded my mind as I climbed out of the vent. At least it was a success. I should think about how to capitalize on the favor Lestia now owed me. I was going to make her pay.

'Good evening, Balthazar.' Aw, crap.

I turned around slowly to face my new company. It wasn't Melanis, thankfully. However, I couldn't decide whether this man was better or worse. 'Good evening, Professor Ozpin.'

The man seemed too fresh for a man up at 4 AM in the morning. I eyed the mug in his hand enviously, wondering for the umpteenth time what magical elixir the headmaster subsisted on. 'Wonderful evening to be staying awake, isn't it?'

'I... I guess so.'

He took a moment to sip his drink, giving me time stabilize my nervousness. 'It is nice to see you getting familiar with the academy complex,' he said, 'however, it seems that your old habits are still quite prevalent.' The second part was said with noticeable lack of mirth. He wasn't angry, but he wasn't amused either.

It was all I could do to stifle my nervous laugh. 'Professor, I swear this isn't what it looks like.'

'There are only two reasons I can think of why anybody would crawl through the air ventilation system. Sadly, I doubt you were there to do some maintenance work.'

'Uhh. You gotta trust me, I really wasn't doi...' He raised his hand, cutting me off mid-sentence.

'Why are you in this academy, Balthazar?'

'Excuse me?' Did he hit his head somewhere? How could he forget that he was the reason I got dragged to this crazy school in the first place?

Sensing my confusion, he amended, 'let me rephrase; why do you still stay in Beacon?'

I stared at him blankly, pondering hard on the question.

Ozpin continued, 'yes, we both knowe how your admission into Beacon came to be. However, your continued stay here is entirely of your free will. What entices you to remain?'

Hmm. What he was saying was true. I could have left anytime if I wanted. But what made me stay? An answer did not jump to me. 'I'm not sure.'

'Well, I hope you discover it soon then because you will be required to write a reflection on the matter.'

'I... what?'

'The essay is to be submitted to my office in three days time.'

I sputtered in disbelief. 'Professor?' Was he for real?

He gave me a minute smile. 'The topic is: Why am I studying in Beacon? I expect a good read out of you.' He didn't even give me a chance to properly protest. 'Good day to you then, gentleman' Without another word, he left the rooftop.

This day could not have ended any better.

-x-x-x-x-

The huntress let out a flurry of stabs, each one faster than the one before. There was no way I could have evaded each of those individually, and I would have had to pull out of her range to avoid the strikes.

However, Alex was not me. He just brought up Foundation and took all the incoming jabs with it. The shield barely shook from the impact.

What didn't barely shake from impact was the huntress when Alex's retaliatory attack struck her square in the abdomen. I flinched as the Pillar walloped into her painfully. With an agonized squeal, she flew to the edge of the training ground, only breaking the fall properly with sheer force of her will. She brought her spear up as she regained her footings.

It was a good thing she did because Alex was already launching his set of attacks. One thing Alex picked up from training with Lestia was to deny his opponents breathing rooms. In Lestia, the tendency was exhausting one to withstand. In Alex, it was a whole new brand of trepidation in itself.

The poor huntress – another of many victims who sought the glory of defeating Alex, I presume – tossed her spear – which is called kuda yari, I later learned – at the charging knight. The weapon barely managed to break his momentum. However, the little it did was enough for her to escape the rampaging juggernaut bearing down on her.

She leapt to safely while motioning her hand towards the kuda yari lying on the ground. The shaft flew to her and reentered the tube that awaited it. Then, with impossible speed, the huntress returned to her previous spot before the leap, catching my teammate still recovering from the charge in her range.

She can jab the spearhead at a crazy speed, let me tell you. If Alex wasn't such a specialist at defence, I doubt he could have gotten off unscathed. As it were, Alex had to detonate the dust in his mace to peel her off, meaning he was quite frustrated and the girl was a decent opponent.

He smirked at her way, looking predatory as a shark. 'So we using semblances now?' Immediately, his auric armor came to life, encasing him in gold. The girl looked awestruck for a second or two at the phantasm. I did too. It really looks cool. The fact that Alex rarely felt the need to use it meant I was not overexposed to it yet.

The behemoth rose its golden mace ready to smite the insolent mortal beneath. That brought her out of reverie. She recognized the danger, backpedaled as fast as her feet could take her and formulated a counter strategy to keep her safe.

'I yield!' she yelled.

And that was that, the joust was over with Alex victorious once more. The girl collapsed tiredly. Alex fared slightly better but his shirt beneath the armor was soaked in perspiration as well. They had been training for the better part of an hour. I came forth with their salvation: a bottle of water. Being the kindhearted man that I am, I ignored my teammate and helped the girl up to a sitting position so that she could drink. Alex shot me daggers.

'Thanks,' she said gratefully.

'Can I please have that bottle, oh generous leader of mine, if you are done impressing my sparring partner?' Alex quipped, irritated.

'Oh hush, peasant. Thou shalt not speak to thy betters in such a tone,' I chided.

'You know, I still have my mace.'

'Good point.' I tossed him the water, which he gulped all in a matter of seconds. 'So who do you happen to be?' I asked the girl, having met her for the first time.

'The name's Yeon. Hwa Yeon. I'm from Team IVRY.' My thief eyes examined her as she made her introductions. Well, she wasn't anything special to look at, not bad on the eyes but not enough to stick around the head after a farewell – the sort of look I had, if Harmony was correct. The huntress's general sense of style, with both clothes and physical appearance, said she knew how to dress herself. She looked like a typical teenager, albeit on the smarter side of the spectrum. The curious thing though, was her posture. The barest habit of being constantly on guard – just as Pyrrha Nikos sported – gently oozed off of her. I had an impression she was trying to deliberately let her guard down, to relax around others, but was failing. Here was a girl who was taught to be a warrior since birth but hated the idea of simply being a warrior.

Either that or I was totally off mark and she just had her guard up because she was wary around me. I preferred to think of myself positively though.

'Nice to meet you, Yeon. I'm Balthazar Venarius, team leader of BLAC.' Hmm, she said Team IVRY, didn't she? That sounded familiar; where have I heard that name?

'You were the one who took Raynee to town!' Oh right. That team. 'She kept us awake for three nights retelling the events.' She shot me with a look that was half gratitude and half frustration.

'Nice to hear she enjoyed the outing.'

Alex cut in then, bored being left out in the conversation. 'Great! Looks like I wasn't the only one to pick up a new friend while going on the field trip. Now, you said you wanted to talk to me about something. Spill.'

Oh right. I didn't come here just to watch Alex duel. 'Right. Uhmm. I need you to tell me something. Why do you study in Beacon?'

That's right, people. I came all the way here because I had no idea how to go about with the freaking essay. Oh, don't judge me. I gave myself full thirty-six hours before I decided to consult external sources. It just didn't come to me. How did anyone accomplish self-reflections? Such people were greater men – or women; let it not be said I am a sexist – than I.

The two hunters looked at me with bewildered expressions, wondering just what the hell I was sprouting now. Yeon looked at me worriedly. Alex, on the other hand, wore an expression one might reserve for a patient carrying a highly contagious and infectious disease. If I had a lien every time I wanted to beat the ever living crap out of Alex, I wouldn't need to stea... ahem... I mean, earn my own money ever again. Such was the sorrow of being the weaker one.

'Look, either you help, or I just go. Don't tax your tongue on my accounts,' I told him.

'How utterly persuasive of you,' he commented dryly.

'You couldn't persuade a dying man to seek medical help.'

'Well, if he needs persuasion for that, I say let him die.'

'Aw, sod off. I don't even know why I thought this was a good idea.'

'You know what's the best part about that sentence? You claiming to be capable of thought.'

Yeon gave an exasperated sigh, likely tired of having to cope with Alex's infantile behavior. Playing the mediator, she said, 'look, I'll tell you mine. How about that?'

I beamed at her offer. 'I would be totally grateful.' I was pleasantly surprised she offered, actually. We were virtually strangers, having only just met.

'Alright, as long as it stops the bickering.' She closed her eyes, her brows creased in thought.

'Why am I in Beacon... Well, I guess I didn't have any other choice. My family had been huntsmen for generations. Who was I to suggest being anything else? My father is a huntsmen. My aunt was a huntress. Their mother was a huntress too. My brother is training to be a huntsmen in Beacon as well. Everyone in the family must become a hunter to protect the weak from the Grimm. I don't see what else I could have been.' Her last sentence was through gritted teeth.

Her revelation was more personal than I expected it to be. It was clear she felt strongly against the duty forced on her. I just sat there, twiddling with my fingers, not knowing what to say. It wasn't something a stranger should opine in.

Alex, on the other hand, obviously did not consider himself a stranger at all. 'Damn, thorn. I didn't know having a family could weigh down that much.' I cringed at his tact, or the lack of it. Who gives a girl a nickname "Thorn"? So distracted was I at his graceful manner of speech that the second part of what he said did not register until much later.

Yeon was faster on the uptake. 'What do mean by that?'

'By what?' Alex asked back.

I picked up the conversation. 'You said you didn't know how having family was like. Does that mean...' I could have just said out loud whether he was an orphan. However, ever since being discovered by Blake, I've been trying to curb my tongue a bit more.

Alex understood. 'Ah. You mean whether I don't have a family?' We just nodded in affirmation. He chuckled. 'Yeah. I'm a poor little orphan. Been with Circe ever since I could remember.'

I didn't know that. I guess in some part of my mind, I had always assumed the rest of my team had come from normal families. You know, parents and all that. Just goes to show how world ain't easy on all of us. Shame burned from within me as I realised just how little I knew about my team members. I vowed to learn about them better.

Oblivious to my mental shame, Alex carried on. 'You asked why I've come to Beacon, right?' The quality to his voice had changed. There was a grim property to it, a determination that spoke of darkness I never thought I would see in a student, much less in a friend of mine. It was the sort of aura assassins exuded.

Unaware of my unease, he resumed. 'To be honest, I'm not here because I have a burning desire to save the world or protect the humankind. In fact, if it wasn't the fact that Circe chose to attend here, I would never have even considered.'

'So you came because Circe did?' I asked.

'Yup. Can't leave that girl alone. She's not very good at knowing her limits. Not to mention the fact that she considers herself the champion of the weak. Can't go past a person in need without trying to fix all his problems. And there's nothing more infuriating than that girl finding something she wants to read. I swear, if it wasn't for me, she would never have made it to Beacon.' The harshness in his voice had faded, making way for the badly hidden fondness he was feeling. My anxiety lessened as the old Alex returned.

Yeon also relaxed as the air around the knight lightened. 'Geez, Alex. You scared me for a second. So intense.'

Alex grinned. 'Oh? Stick around and I'll show you intense.' Yeon slammed the butt of her spear into his guts in retort. All air escaped from his lungs, taking his smirk along with it. Considering the fact that he was armored for combat, the blow must have been especially vicious.

He was on all fours, not able to get his feet up. I observed the fallen comrade and came to the conclusion that he was fine. Yeon apparently came to the conclusion he needed more beating and proceeded to remedy that flaw.

I left the two of them to tear each other's throat. I still had a report to write, after all.

-x-x-x-x-

The next one I wanted to find was Circe. She was a daughter of a family who owned a powerful corporation. After having heard from Alex she was the cause of his enrollment, my curiosity was piqued. What could have enticed her to leave that aside and spend her time here? What did she hope to get out of this place? How does her family feel about her studying in the same place Schnee heiress was studying? How did she feel about Alex hitting on just about every girl that wasn't her or Yang? How does her hair never get tangled in the morning?

I frowned as I reread my list then crossed out the last two sentences. They seemed a bit off topic.

As it turned out, the list was useless because Circe was nowhere to be found. Opinions on her whereabouts seemed conflicted, some claiming to have seen her in the laboratories while others stating she was exercising her authority within the library, executing all noisy trespassers without mercy. One student even informed me that she was feeding on the blood of the innocent somewhere – I'll admit the guy wasn't the most reliable source of information.

One common trait my informers seemed to share was that they were all wrong. I went to all the places they mentioned, plus a few of my own guesses, but she was at none of these areas.

Hmm. Nothing I could do about.

So instead, I decided to settle for the next best thing. Lestia.

-x-x-x-x-

Finding Lestia was significantly easier than finding the dustcaster. Being the social chatterbox that she was, she usually spent her free time mingling with other people, be that friends or strangers. For some reason, those who knew her also seemed to know me, calling me by my name even before I made my introductions. Not only that, they seemed to be quite up to date with my current affairs. Grrrrr. Lestia. My private life was not meant to be your ice breaker. She and I was going to have a word regarding the issue.

With the help of these kind busybodies, I located Lestia.

She was, for once, alone. Meandering through the dense forest known as the school garden, she spotted my approach and entered deeper into the foliage, in the opposite direction. So happened a game of tag, each of us trying to get the drop on the other. We were both the hunter and the hunted, whoever managing to catch the other off guard the victor.

I was quite apt at the art of stealth, of course. One did not stay as a thief long if he did not know how to sneak around. My footsteps were light, my movements were economic. My knowledge on espionage in the woods, however, was complete garbage.

The rules were completely different. The thicket provides fanfare to announce the presence of anybody that step on them. The shadows betray you, lured by the motions of branches overhead, as silver of unpredictable sunlight highlight your location at the most inopportune timings. And worst of all, the thorns and the bristles clung to your outfit like debt collectors after a loan. I could not be swift, I could not be fluid.

I was absolutely at the mercy of my partner.

She showed no mercy – she never does. Right at the moment I made a blunder, she pounced. All the obstructions I was facing did not impede her in the slightest. It was as if the forest yielded to let her pass. Did her semblance grant her easier passage through the trees? I could not see how it could have. Then again, walking on air could be advantageous in rural settings. Something to ponder on later.

Curious and idle thoughts do not help a person in an emergency situation, no matter how good the question. Before I could muster a proper response, she had me pinned to the ground, my flailing limbs in a lock.

'Got ya, Balty,' she declared cheerfully.

'Great. Yay. Now let me go please.' I purposely made my tone a deadpan, to strip her the satisfaction of her victory.

She did not go easy with her lock either. Her voice came from beside my ear, full of mirth. 'Drab as usual-,' I growled in response-, 'so, what do you need?' She skipped off me. I dusted the leaves as I stood up, cursing the vegetation that clung to the clothes.

I relayed to her my current predicament, making sure she realised it was because of her favor that I got into this mess. To my irritation, I found not a shred of guilt on her when I finished my story.

'So you want to hear why I came to Beacon?' she asked, ignoring the rest of my comments. 'Does this mean I pay back the favor owed?'

'Not in the least.' I thought she might try something like that. She pouted at my refusal but did not push.

'Alright fine. Didn't expect it anyway.' She lied on the ground, inviting me to a particularly muddy patch of grass to do the same. She was not aware that I was no stranger to muck and grime. All they did to you was to force you to take a bath. Compared to the sort of filth I used to wade in in the past, a bit of garden mud was nothing.

I plopped down beside her without hesitation, extracting a surprise out of her for once. The well-fertilized soil was cold to the touch, but at least it was soft.

'The stains are never gonna come off,' she said.

'It's just stains. Focus on your story.'

'Ah, alright. Let's think. I am Lestia Glass, the gorgeous partner of Balthazar Venarius in Team BLAC. I used to attend Signal before Beacon, earning my place in this wonderful academy with ease. I am currently in this lovely patch of grass being interrogated for my childhood. Does that sum up what you wanted from me?'

'Lestia.'

'You're serious about hearing my story. Hmm.' She mulled over the prospect before saying, 'oh fine. I guess I don't mind.' She rolled over to her stomach, an option available to her because there was no mud where she was.

'I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm not from Vale. In fact, I'm not from any of the human strongholds. I lived in a small town called Crystaldam, although why it was named that is beyond me, since there's not a single crystal or dam in the place.' I chuckled at that but otherwise maintained silence, listening attentively.

'So you know how outside is like. A lot of Grimm with not enough huntsmen to keep them away. When I was nine, the watchman on duty fell asleep on the job and a bunch of ursas decided to pay a social visit.' Her words were light but the tone was nowhere as such. Here fist clench as she recalled the memory.

'They never shared to the kids what the body count was. But I know it was bad. My parents died that day. Most of my friends died that day. The little baby Tina next door died that day, along with her parents. A lot of people died, Balthazar. All the people I knew. Except my older brother, for all good survival did for him.'

Her eyes seemed unfocused, as if her mind was elsewhere. I wanted to tell her to stop, to spare herself the suffering, but I was just as much a thrall to her story as she was. All I could do was to ask, 'how did you survive?'

She smiled, a reaction I wasn't expecting. 'What else would have stopped the Grimm, silly? The huntsmen arrived. Or to be precise, the huntsman. One man, singlehandedly, wiped out all those bastards that killed so many of the townsfolk. I don't think he even broke a sweat. He just took out his fan of knives and whipped them about and all the Grimm fell dead.'

'Do you know what I learned that day, Balthazar? That strength is everything. It decides whether the things trying to kill you really do or they simply become toys. I will become the strongest huntress. I will not let my life be controlled by anything else ever again.'

We didn't exchange much words after that. I concisely thanked her for her frankness and retreated. Her story was a lot to digest at once. I needed a moment to myself.

-x-x-x-x-

My scroll beeped, introducing a brief speck of light on this dark rooftop. I ignored it, leaving the message unread. Enough time for that later; it was probably just a team member wondering about my whereabouts.

I reflected on what I've learned today. I have heard personal stories from three cadets and they were all quite different from each other.

Yeon came here because it was her family's tradition and her duty. It was a way of life for her and her brother, to strive to protect the people who cannot defend themselves from the Grimm. It was a noble thing to do, no doubt. However, I couldn't shake the feeling that Yeon felt stifled by her future having been made for her. I considered this thought. Personally, between my childhood and hers, I would have gone for the latter any day of the week. If I had been given a choice to trade freedom for food during my childhood, I would have made that pact. Still, I didn't know her side of the story. Maybe she was perfectly happy with her situation and I misread the signs. Maybe there were worse things than starvation.

Alex's story was... well... nothing deeply moving. It was so typically Alex, actually. To have come here because his best friend wanted to study here. After hearing what he said, perhaps the term "childhood friend" was as literal as it could be. Anyone with eyes could tell the bond between the two was crazy strong. They were more than friends, and I did not mean that in the romantic sense; they transcended that too. They were like siblings, or husband and wife, or twins, or all of these combined. But their exact relationship status was none of my business.

Hmm. In some way, making life decisions because of somebody dear to you sounded admirable. But on the other hand, it felt like such a lazy way to live a life. To make goals based on somebody else was an unreliable method to live. What if you two went separate ways? Or somebody new came in? Nobody saw the future – I haven't heard of anybody with such a semblance so far – and future owed none of us favors. Nothing should be taken for granted; this applied to people too. Nobody lived forever.

Right. I wasn't going to go down that train of thought. It brought memories best left untouched.

I clamped the wandering thoughts by the metaphorical throat and yanked it back to the topic. Time for the conclusion. The conclusion I came was that I didn't know the first thing about deep relationships. I have said this before; thieves do not good friendships make. Before I started tossing opinions about how Alex chose to live, I should keep in mind I was a complete ignorant. Additionally, the brief switch in Alex as he thought about his past made me suspect that something did happen in the past between Circe and him, or involving them. There was no way to tell what, so for now I should just take his words at face value and not attempt to decipher them.

So now came Lestia. Without doubt her story was the most intense of the three. Her reason for coming to Beacon was so personal, it made someone like me, who had no idea why he stayed here, cringe at the passion. It did explain why she spared no quarter in her offesives though. I reckoned she found it hard to grant mercy when battle rage took her.

I remembered her actions ever since we met and she had always, always been fascinated with powerful weapons. Now I knew the driving force behind the fascination.

Her story, I could sympathize, sort of. I never lost my family to a Grimm attack – or if I did, I didn't know about it – but I have experienced ruthlessness. There were some really nasty folks in undermarket who allowed no room for nice. I tried to avoid them when possible but there were times such encounters occurred. Well... let's just say I wasn't still standing because I asked them politely to leave me alone. There was a flint in one part of my heart that allowed me to harden the rest if the going got hard and nasty. But the details of these stories weren't something I wanted to publish to the general public, by any means.

Ugh. I was starting to understand the magnitude of trust in Lestia's decision to share her story with me. I appreciated her choice, of course. I needed to make sure I expressed the sentiment to her. But that was something I would go about doing later.

Objectively speaking, her goal was the most selfish of the three. Alex and Yeon were here for the sake of others, Circe for Alex and defenseless normal people for Yeon. Lestia was here for herself, to make herself stronger so that she will never lose control of her life.

Thieves understood selfishness. It was an intrinsic aspect of their life. Do I share this loot with my team? Or pocket it for myself since the others do not know about it? Do I take all of this stack of lien which is clearly this old couple's life savings? Do I reveal the truth of the matter or let that poor schmuck take the fall, leaving me blameless? Do I use this expensive grenade to save that girl's life or save if for later in case my own life was in danger? Selfishness made sense to us.

Now before you start judging me, I would like to point out that my enrollment to this academy was a result of a moment of foolish unselfishness. My thoughts took me to Weiss, and I briefly wondered how my life would be now if I had never met her on that fateful night. I would never have been caught. I would never have unlocked my aura. I would never have met Lestia, Circe and Alex. I would never have met the members of Team RWBY and JNPR – although I have still yet to meet the elusive leader of the latter team. I would never have met Melanis, which might be a blessing depending on how one looked at it.

I would also not have gotten Rebecca off the streets into Harmony's care. I would not have fought off Lycan – an identified Grimm – and put an end to it before it claimed civilian lives. I would also not have struck a deal with Hei Xiong – commonly known as Junior by those who knew him – to have his henchmen patrol the woods to protect the street kids who lived at the edge of the city.

Actually, because of that night I did a lot of things I couldn't have as a thief for the sake of the children of the streets. I never thought about the virtue of my actions before but now I recognized that quite a few of them had been altruistic, to the point Harmony would have disapproved. Even if I could have gone back in time, I would have made the same choices. Because those kids needed somebody to alleviate some of the shit their lives forced them to go through.

I didn't know if this was the reason I stayed, but it could be.

-x-x-x-x-

Professor Ozpin looked at the two piece paper I gave him. He gave the essay a look-over. 'Two pages?'

'A friend of mine believes in "quality over quantity" mindset. She passed her beliefs to me, I'm afraid.' An amused gleam shone in his eyes.

'I see.' He hoisted my homework and began to read. I stood in attention, wondering what his comments would be. His eyes journeyed down the lines for a few seconds before he glanced up to perceive my presence. 'You are dismissed.'

Disappointed no comments were forthcoming – I put a lot of effort on that paper – I was reluctant to comply. But what else could I do? I left, grumbling silently about the unfairness the weak suffered under an authoritarian rule.

Now what to do for the rest of the day? My mind automatically went to Lestia, who bared her heart because her friend asked her to, despite the anguish doing so must have brought.

Hmm. Did I have enough time to go to city and buy her favorite ice cream? I took a look at my scroll. Yeah, I had time.

-x-x-x-x-

**AN: What does the Inquisition of Deadlines do to an author who forsakes his duties? They shoot the bastard for his crime against humanity.**

**Having said that, I hope it isn't the case because I would definitely be on the list to be executed if that was the case.**

**Why is is that all my chapters are becoming so long? Is it something I do? 7000+ again. If any of you feel my chapters are too long or has any other advices on my style and execution of writing please do leave a comment.**

**Slowly but surely, we are approaching the season 1's canon. You know, with Penny and all. I can't let that go by, can I? Any ideas would be appreciated if shared.**

**Right then. Ciao ppl.**


	15. Chapter 15: Reunion

****DISCLAIMER: Those that ought to belong to others shall belong to their respective owners. Those that ought to belong to me, if any, shall belong to me.** **

**AN: And look at that! A semi decent rate of chapter production. Call the media boys, we are going places! I don't want to take too much of your times with A/N. Read on.**

Reunion

My scroll began to beep, rousing me out of my sleep. Fumbling blindly, my hand reached for the device and landed on a person's arm instead. Or at least I think it was an arm, my eyes weren't really open yet.

'Balthazar. Stop fidgeting. You are drawing attention.' Circe's voice came from the direction of my hand. She gently nudged at me so as to wake me up. 'Professor Port is glancing at this direction. Wake up,' she warned.

Ugh. Back to the boring self-worship, I guess. 'Fine. Fine. I'm awake.' Professor Port was more tolerant than some of his peers but I knew better than to push my luck so blatantly. Groggily, I righted myself and checked my phone, wondering what message I had gotten.

The world went cold.

I stood up abruptly, garnering looks from just about everybody in the class. My teammates gave me a curious look but I did not respond. I hardly registered anything at the moment.

'Mr Venarius? Is everything okay?' Port asked, concern plain in his expression.

I had enough awareness in my mind to utter, 'Professor Port. May I be dismissed?' It wasn't really a request – I was still going to leave even if he forbade me – but I did want to stay polite.

He must have noted the determination in my voice or something because he did not ask for a clarification. He simply replied, 'go settle whatever it is that's necessary.' It was as if he understood. I nodded gratefully and continued on my way. Eyes followed me all the way but I hardly paid attention.

As soon as I was out, I whipped my scroll and pressed a speed-dial. She picked it up on the third ring.

'Harmony. What the fuck do you mean Bernand is dead?' I asked.

-x-x-x-x-

My relationship with Harmony started five years ago.

I was alone for the first time in the while and was absolutely lost what to do with my new independence. No longer under the wing of the Maker, I was vulnerable and had no resources. I had no team, no intel and no safehouses to perform any sort of heists without hefty risks.

That's when Harmony sought me out with the offer of partnership that would eventually evolve into friendship.

Bernand was Harmony's favorite getaway pilot and her part time boyfriend. The two hooked up and broke up with each other so often that I never understood why they bothered. They would "fall apart" for the most trivial of reasons. I recall that once, Harmony told him to get lost because he was wearing a pair of yellow and pink sneakers. Granted, those shoes were ugly as sin but that wasn't something that serious, was it?

At the fundamental level, those two were the closest of friends. And by the virtue of my bunking with Harmony, he had been a good friend to me as well. Which was why his death shook me up so much.

I stepped into The Fishy Place and saw close to a dozen familiar faces.

The thing was, Bernand wasn't really a marketman. Oh sure, he flew our airship in some of our heists and go involved in some of our high speed chases but most of his businesses were with the regular folks. At core, he was no more involved in the Vale's criminal underworld any more than Lestia was. That was why we were holding a wake in his honor in Montier's place, instead of the funeral home.

We could have attended. We knew where it was. But all that would accomplish was to reduce Bernand in the eyes of the mundane. How would they feel to know their recently deceased used to hang out with criminals of all shapes and forms? To realise that their son, friend or business associate was actively involved with nefarious scums of Remnant.

Not good, I presume.

That was why this tradition evolved. Nothing good ever came out from two sides of the world meeting. It was better for all involved to remain apart.

Montier gave me a slight nod to acknowledge my arrival. I did likewise but did not join him at the counter. Today wasn't the day for idle chatter. Spotting Harmony wasn't too hard. I just had to look for the table with the most empty beer jugs. She was in the secluded corner at the back, hidden from the rest of the people, slumped over the surface. I approached her and plopped myself down.

'You're here, Breaker. I didn't think you would come right away.' There was a slight slur to her words but it was barely noticeable. I counted the number of jugs she had drained. Twenty-three. She could still take a bit more but not by much. Montier shot me a questioning glance from his stand and I gave him a nod. He nodded back, trusting my decision to judge her condition accurately.

'How could I not come? Bernand was a friend.' I noticed the moisture in her eyes but pushed them out of my mind. Harmony didn't do such things like crying.

'He was a friend indeed. Let's drink to that,' she hefted her glass only to find its content already consumed. She hollered, 'Montier, you slacking piece of ursa feed! Where in the seven colors of dust is my beer!' Her voice cut over the restaurant's clamor, loud enough to garner some strangers' attentions.

'Coming, you widowed whippersnapper! Keep yer trumpet down, some people're trying ta have some dinner in here!'

The mug slammed down on the table, making me flinch. 'Who you calling widow, you worthless excuse for a human! I ain't even married, you hear!' The jug didn't even have a scratch on it for which I was grateful; Montier purchased quality goods.

Montier the restaurant owner brought us a pair of glasses filled with beer as well as a jug full of the liquid to help ourselves afterwards. 'Here ya go. Knock yourselves out. But dun go be knocking others, got it?'

'Got it, Montier. Thanks for having us,' I answered. I shot Harmony a glance but she ignored me pointedly.

'Isn't as if I'll stop you guys from saying farewell,' Montier replied. He stepped back into the chaos, navigating through the mess known as evening traffic without breaking stride.

Harmony was about to resume drinking but I grabbed her hand. 'Promise me you won't get drunk,' I pleaded. She gave me a glare, warning me to let go but I resisted. Eventually, she let the glass drop with a sigh. She wasn't drunk yet but she was trying to be. Before she succeeded, I needed to extract some answers. I needed to know what happened to Bernan Decker.

The challenge was how to bring out the question

'Well, look at you, Breaker. We just reunited ourselves after months and you're already telling me what to do.' She wasn't angry. This sort of rant was a usual thing for her.

'What can I say? Some things, you just never forget.'

'You certainly didn't forget to keep your tongue weak and mellow.'

'And you haven't lost your touch being vitriolic either.'

Her eyebrow rose. 'A big word. Some things did change after all.' I chuckled and took a swig. She followed suit eagerly, as if waiting for me to give her the excuse. Her hands wavered slightly as she lifted her mug, letting me know she was reaching her limit soon.

'What happened to him?' I know, it's tactless, but I needed to know how he died.

With that single question, all her composure returned and fury smudged her face. 'Murdered. Disguised as accident.' I went still as my blood went cold.

'Are you sure?'

'Do I look like a fucking idiot?' A point. Harmony didn't say stuff like this unless she was absolutely sure. Accusations of murder have literally cascaded into gang wars before. No marketmen claimed their friends as murdered unless they were ready to send Hades a few permanent visitors.

'Who?'

'No clue.'

'Then how do you know?'

'Because our latest mutual client has gone silent just before Bernand was found dead in his apartment. Dead silent. Emphasis on dead.'

Oh, this was just getting better and better. 'For Remnant's sake. You saying they offed Bernand?'

'No, Balthazar.' She shook her head, frustrated at my slow uptake on what must be as clear as day to her. With a tone of an exasperated aunt, or that of an irritated mentor, she said, 'I'm saying whoever hired our recently-gone-silent clients is now wrapping up loose ends.'

Understanding dawned. 'Which was why Bernand got hit and we were left alone. Because...'

'Because we were working under aliases, while Bernand was being a goody-goody model citizen and had given his real identity.'

I wasn't convinced though. 'You're going about all these with awful a lot of assumptions.'

'The world runs on assumptions, Breaker. They just call it preemptive planning.'

'Still, we don't even know if our clients were really being cat's paws.'

'Well. I'm going to find out.' She poured herself another glass of beer. 'And when I do, I will educate those worthless sons of bitches what it means to kill a friend of mine.' She downed the whole thing at the end of her words. As she vowed vengeance, voices began to climb all around us in the bar, the hostility in the atmosphere slowly matching that of Harmony.

'Harmony.' I whispered urgently and grabbed her hand, trying to distract her from her anger.

She acknowledged me with a dismissive nod. 'Relax. It's not gonna cause anything worse than a bar brawl.' A pair of voices began bellowing at each other from one corner of the restaurant, accompanied by a sound of glass breaking.

'Harmony. Get a fucking grip. You will not trash Montier's place.' My tolerance for her antics was at its end. I took out Fiasco and chambered in a tranquilizer round.

She glared at me daggers upon the appearance of my revolver – she knew from past experience I wouldn't hesitate to use it – but took a deep breath and reined in her semblance. The angry voices slowly subsided around us as the enraged customers found themselves no longer furious at whatever had caused them offence in the first place. Not knowing Harmony's semblance, they would probably chalk up their anger to the day's stress and continue on with the rest of the day.

Harmony's semblance was what could be described as empathetic impression. She could impress upon the people to sport a certain mood, as long as they were not aware she was doing it. It was a very handy skill for just about any situation another person was involved. Information mining, negotiating, avoiding patrols, being under scrutiny by authoritative figures were just the few things I could think on top of my head she could use semblance for. It was harder to cast on somebody who knew the nature of her semblance, but not impossible if she was subtle enough. And trust me; she was very subtle when she wanted to be.

This was the first time I saw her lose control though. Her semblance's effectiveness was tied to its anonymity so she usually kept a tight hand on letting it out. The lesser people knew about her semblance, the better. When she became hungover tomorrow morning, she was going to spend some time regretting her decision. Oh well, I wasn't her father and it wasn't my business to ensure she made decisions she could live with.

I was, however, her friend and it was my business to keep my friend out getting into too much trouble.

'So how can I help?' I asked.

She snorted at my offer. 'You don't. You stay in that little academy and learn how to kill monsters. If you manage to survive till graduation and actually become someone who can pull some muscles about, then I'll think about letting you scrub the floors.'

'Fuck you, Harmony.' I frowned at her refusal.

'Get in line, Breaker. Now that I'm available, people are swarming to have my hand,' she replied without missing a beat. 'On a serious note though. I meant it when I said you should just stay at Beacon. There's nothing the two of us can do that I couldn't do better alone. Two people asking around a same thing is just going to attract exponentially more attention than one person doing so. Also, if someone is after us, I would rather be assured knowing you are thick inside a hub of huntsmen instead of wasting efforts keeping you safe.'

'So there's nothing I can do?' I asked miserably, feeling useless.

'None,' she nodded. Harmony wasn't a woman who softened her words for anyone.

'Fine then. Just keep me updated.' It didn't leave a nice taste to say the words but I did not see what other choices I had.

'Mmhmm.' She downed another glass of beer.

A change of topic was in order. 'So how have you been doing?' It was blatant as all hell but I was hoping Harmony was as willing as I was to talk about something other than pursuing Bernand's murderers.

She smiled impishly. 'Oh. Did you know? I got a new apprentice now. Some selfish bastard left her at my doorsteps without giving me a choice in the matter.'

'Really? This is the first time you told me.' Right. Rebecca. I should have brought up the matter first, to be honest.

'It was an unexpected replacement to my old partner but I think she's a much superior one.'

'Really now? Is she as dashing, as capable and as intelligent as the old one?'

'Are we talking about the same person? Because I definitely do not remember having an ex-partner that fit that description.'

'I can see just how much you appreciated me around.'

'Well, if you had bothered to cook me breakfast every morning like Rebecca does, maybe I would miss you more.'

'She does what? Harmony, I sent her to learn from you, not serve you like a slave.'

She waved away my complaint dismissively. 'Relax. I don't mistreat her or anything. She's just fascinated by the concept of actually cooking for food. I can't get her to stop.' I thought about the time when I was enlisted into the Maker's ranks. I remember being amazed by being able to simply take out ice cream from the freezer whenever I wanted to. I could she how cooking had gotten Rebecca all excited.

'I appreciate you taking her in. I really owe you one.'

'Hmph. You owe me nothing. The girl wasn't your responsibility any more than Bernand's death was your fault. But if you really insist...'

'No, no. You're absolutely right. I don't owe you any favors.'

She grinned. 'Rebecca is going to be so disappointed her savior is such a petty bastard.'

'Oh, I doubt she knew I was setting her up.'

Harmony snorted, 'as if. Breaker. Rebecca's sharper than one of my bolts' tip.' Just for reference, Harmony's bolts were really, really sharp.

'You mean she knows everything? Did you tell her?' Technically, I had nothing to be sorry for. I did improve her life by a large margin. However, if Rebecca knew the truth of the situation, she would have figured out that the rough treatment she suffered in my hand was all an act. I wasn't proud of how I had handled her. It was necessary but wasn't self-inspiring by any means.

'The moment she realised I was taking her in, she connected all the dots. I reckon she's preparing her gratitude in full in expectation of her next meeting with you,' said Harmony.

I chuckled at her statement. 'Really? I got myself a fangirl? Can't wait to see how she's going to try to ambush,' I said, only half joking. I sort of did want to see her again, if only to see the fruits of my intervention.

'I believe you gave her something.' Harmony dug into one of her breast pockets and took out my ring of twisted wires. 'As her official guardian, I'm afraid I can't support your decision to woo her. For one thing, she's way too young for you. For another, You're nowhere good enough.'

I pocketed the memento fondly. 'I'll take your opinion under consideration.'

'While we are on the subject of rings, I believe you asked Junior to find you something?' She produced another ring, this one much more astronomical in value than the former. Although I had never seen the ring before in my life, I knew whose ring I was looking at.

'It belongs to a friend of mine,' I said.

'A very rich friend of yours, one whom you've brought to Junior's little den to flaunt about like a very expensive piece of jewelry.' The words were exaggerated, of course, but her disapproval was not.

I snatched the ring as I defended myself. 'Fuck off, Harmony. I wasn't trying to impress anyone. And even if I did, it's not something you can opine about.'

'And here I was, thinking that I had instilled some sense in you while you were under my tutelage.'

'First of all, our relationship was that of partners. Second; I know she's trouble to be around for people like us so you don't have to worry about my capacity for self-preservation. Third; I was under duress so it's not as if I had a choice in the matter. Lastly, she's a world-class klutz but a very nice kid, so I would appreciate if you reserved your opinion on the girl without even having met her.' My voice got tad louder as I traversed down my list and I struggled to rein in the decibels before it started inviting people around to pay more attentions to our conversation.

Harmony – who now looked more sober than I would have prefered. Fortune damn her – met my glare indifferently. Then she broke into a large grin, letting me know that she had been baiting a reaction out of me all along. 'Is she your partner?' she asked.

'No,' I replied.

'You two are item then?'

'Fortune forbids, no.'

'Why not? She's a damn fine sight. Almost enough to make me bend.' You might have noticed that Harmony was an unabashed individual.

'If you want her, go ahead and try. For me, no thanks.' I shuddered at the idea. Don't get me wrong. Raynee is breathtaking to behold. However, there's a fine line between appreciating someone as a friend and as a lover. The latter had more benefits at the cost of as much responsibilities. I had no wish whatsoever to be responsible of someone as handful as Raynee. At least, this was what I told myself when my head was all rational and clear without the mesmerizing influence of her presence around. For this reason, I had been keeping my distance from the girl with rainbow hair. With her ring finally in my hands though, I guess I would have to have a reunion soon.

Harmony seemed to be have satisfied her curiosity on the huntress and was moving onto another topic. 'Tell me something, Breaker. Why have you become so busy after joining the huntsmen? I know that ring wasn't the only thing you asked of Junior. I also know what you paid him with.' Damn that Junior. He must have babbled everything to this woman.

'Did Junior tell you?' I asked the obvious question.

'You know that Junior is willing to do a lot of things for me to do me,' she purred softly, enjoying my extreme irritation. I knew about Junior's infatuation of Harmony; I should have warned him specifically not to disclose our dealings to anyone. Sigh. Too late to anything but berate myself for the error.

'Well. Do keep this info to yourself please. It's not something I want people to know about.'

'But surely you would love to let everyone know Breaker is being charitable?' She said the last word with equal mix of scorn and curiosity, letting me know that although she condemned my altruistic act, she nonetheless wanted to hear the reason why I performed it. Well, sweetheart, you ain't getting everything you want, least of all my confession of sentimental attachment to street kids of Vale.

'No I don't.' I stated firmly.

'Not fun at all.'

'The nerdiest guy in the neighborhood. That's me.'

'Is your new partner as bland as you?' she changed the topic, and for once it seemed to be out of genuine, simple curiosity instead her seeking to criticize my actions.

'She's completely nuts. Violent and reckless and totally uncontrollable.'

'Another she? You've gotten popular with the ladies, haven't you?' Harmony teased.

'I don't think Lestia knows how to be romantically inclined.' I said this only half-jokingly. I kinda believed what I was saying, extreme as it sounded. It was Lestia, after all.

'Just because you couldn't get her to fall in love with you, you would question her capacity to love? Breaker! I raised you better than this.'

'If by better, you mean better than the elixir of bullshit you're spewing, then I guess you did raise me better. But that's only because you didn't raise me at all.'

'Now you're just hurting my feelings.' She feigned mock agony.

I chugged down the last of the Montier's beer and set it on the table. 'Well, if your feelings have recovered enough to be hurt. I guess I should go. I would like to leave on good terms, if only for Bernand to see us part that way.'

'How considerate of you,' Harmony droned, 'still, I guess this farewell is tad better than the last circumstance we parted in. I'm sorry what happened back then. If I had known our clients would go missing soon afterwards, I would have stuck out my neck for you.' A frown had settled on me at her words but I knew this was as proper an apology I was going to get from Harmony. It was the thought that counted.

'Yes, well. It did lead to some adventure, so I guess I can't complain,' I simply replied. I was about to get up and go but Harmony caught my hand. I looked at her, wondering what else she might have to say.

'I would like you to do something for me,' she said.

Of course, I thought. Harmony wouldn't be Harmony without getting someone to do something for her. Still, I did kind of owe her for taking in Rebecca so I relented. 'What you want?' Nobody said I had to sound eager for the errand.

'I would like to meet your new partner. Do you think you can arrange a lunch for all three of us?'

This notion was more than mildly uncomfortable. 'Why do you want to see her?'

'Because I haven't seen her yet, you paranoid prick. I want to see how much better I am compared to your new partner. Plus, since I'm gonna lay low for awhile, I need to find things to occupy my time.'

The idea still didn't appeal to me. Objectively speaking, I didn't really have a good reason to refute her request. Harmony was probably the last person to let slip that I was a marketman. In terms of caution, she was above me by leaps and bounds.

Harmony sometimes had her moments of random wants and this was probably one of them. I doubted she had any ulterior motives. And relatively, this sort of favor was small in size. If I appeased her now, I would not be pressed into doing a much bigger favor for her later. I ran some mental calculations and my prudent side won. 'Alright. When shall I set the date?'

'It's gonna be Vale Festival soon. The city should be lively enough to sightsee around then, don't you think?'

Vale Festival, huh? That wasn't very far away. 'Alright. I guess I'll see you then.'

'Take care, Breaker. Any more of these drinking and I will die,' were her parting words.

'Don't even joke like that. I need you alive to keep the police distracted.' We bade farewell, not mentioning Bernand in the least. Neither of us was going to forget him but nor were we going to be bogged down by it. That's how I would have wanted my friends to be if I ever died prematurely.

I left the Fishy Place, thinking about the upcoming meeting between Lestia and Harmony. First I was going to need to get Lestia to agree to come but I doubted she would be averse to the idea.

I hope nothing happened when they met.

-x-x-x-x-

**AN: This chpt was succint – or so I would like to believe – and on point. I could have added a fight scene but to be honest I wanted to be a focusing on the two characters' interactions. Also, I'm kinda running out of ideas on who to set off at each other.**

**I hope this chpt was enjoyable. If there are points I can improve, please do comment.**

**So things are sort of coming to a head, as – hopefully – this chpt has shown. **

**Now as a general discussion, how do you feel about character deaths? I am curious about how you feel about such a thing.**


	16. Chapter 16: Three's a Company: part 1

****DISCLAIMER: Those that ought to belong to others shall belong to their respective owners. Those that ought to belong to me, if any, shall belong to me.** **

**A/N: Alright. Finally. Man, I feel like I'm taking longer to write... I got a couple of opinions by reviews on character death and the argument semi-goes both ways according to the people. The general consensus though, is that I do not throw it about like a candy on Halloween. **

**Vicc125: Don't worry, it's not Circe's time. Not yet anyway.**

**nightblad546: Would you say everyone other than Balthazar is fair game? Or is there others who should be off limits as well?**

**P: It is still early, isn't it? I write so slowly, it feels like forever but it's only sixteen chapters. Sigh.**

**Kane: Thanks for the more in-depth review. As to answer the question on war-time gears, I must say not so soon. Those things are the type of equipment he would resort to if he no longer gives a whiff about the aftermath. Much further in the story, I'm afraid. Gives me time to gather more time to come up with truly terrifying grenades and gadgets instead of simple massively destructive arsenal.**

**joshiewoshie: Your advice is sound. I don't think I'm good enough a writer to cut off one of my main characters and juggle the emotions of others effectively to make the read enjoyable. Plus, this story is not that dark in mood so I guess staying away from major death is sensible. As to you last comment, yes, I know it's double quote. When I write a short story, I abide that rule. When I do something as long as this, I get a bit lazy and cut corners. I apologise if it grates some nerves, I just have a tendency to be lazy.**

**silthara: On the note about impacts, how do you feel if your endeared character gets killed off by the author? I want to know how others feel when their fav character dies.**

**And without further ado, please read on.**

-x-x-x-x-

Three's a Company...

Fun fact: while Lestia can run on four hours of sleep without drawbacks, she cannot run on zero hours of sleep.

She yawned for what was probably the seventeenth time. Since the yawn was contagious, coupled with the boring atmosphere of the airship ride to Vale, I yawned as well. She dozed off in her seat, and for the sake of keeping her awake, I initiated conversation.

'So, why didn't you sleep yesterday?' I asked. She had spent the whole night out so I had no idea what she had been doing.

Lestia meeped sleepily, 'do you know a tournament competitor arrived on a ship yesterday? Came here stowed on a ship, I think. Anyway, I was staking him out the whole night, to see what sort of things he can do.'

'I think you mispronounced _stalking_.'

She punched me on the arm. 'Don't be rude. Stalking is a crime. Staking is legitimate. Police do it all the time.'

'Yes. When they are tailing criminals, not potential opponents.'

'Details, details. Technically, the faunus boy was a stowaway. That makes him a criminal, right?' I smiled at the cute attempt to justify her actions.

'But it doesn't make you a police officer.' I corrected her with my impeccable logic.

'You're such a uptight wad, you know that?'

'Don't be all sour now just because you discovered your stalkerish nature.' Stalkerish probably wasn't a real word but I highly doubted Lestia was going to know the difference.

'I am not a stalker. You're just being... ugh... never mind. We're not continuing this conversation,' she declared. I chuckled at her irritation. These days, I was becoming more skilled at provoking her, or she was becoming easier. 'So who are we meeting?' she diverted the topic.

'We are meeting my ex-partner. A rather strong-willed woman who goes by the name of Hestia,' yes, of course Harmony was meeting Lestia under alias, 'and is about as predictable as a dice roll.'

'Is that why we are meeting her fully armed?' she asked. Both she and I were dressed in our combat attire, fully equipped to kill several Grimm. I had even packed my visor – which had so far been sealed away in Beacon due to the Schnee heiress – just in case.

'Not exactly. She wouldn't try to kill us or anything, but usually when Hestia is around, trouble tends to follow.'

'Ooh. I like her already.'

I sighed. 'From what I can tell about the both of you, you're going to get along like peas in a pod.' A notion that was as scary as it was exhausting.

'So why does she want to meet me?'

'Hell if I know. She does weird things, that partner of mine.'

She mulled over my latest comment. Faintest trace of excitement gleamed in her eyes, the sort that always showed on her just before any fight. I hoped it wasn't a premonition or anything because I could do without an excitement. Just because I brought out my weapons did not mean I wished to use them.

'So what kind of person is she? Were you two dating?' Well, Lestia with tact wasn't Lestia at all.

'No, we weren't. She's eight years older than me. Plus, she had a boyfriend the whole time.' I prayed she wouldn't ask any romance related questions when we met Harmony but could not warn her against it in case I piqued her curiosity further. Knowing Lestia, it was highly likely she would spend most of her time asking about Harmony's weapons instead of romantic experiences but you never know which way a conversation can pop with girls.

'So how did you meet?' she resumed her interrogation, heedless of internal concern I had raging inside me.

'There was a little... incident which caused me to lose my sponsor. I had to leave the organisation in haste. She contacted me first once she heard the news and offered a partnership.'

'Hmm. What sort of partnership?'

Shoot. I could not tell her I was the entry man – as in, I was the guy who disabled the defences of the facilities we were robbing – I needed to come up with something quick. 'I was an errand boy. If somebody wanted something sent or received, I was the go-in-between. If they needed to buy something subtly, without being seen, I was the one who went to the counter to pay for it.'

'That sounds shady as hell.'

'Wasn't exactly the sort of job to brag about. But it kept me from being a freeloader so Hestia kept me around.'

'When did you meet her?'

'About two years ago?' More like four or five.

'So you met her when you were about fifteen?'

'Sounds about right.' More like twelve or thirteen.

'That seems awfully young to be offered a partnership.' Some people look at Lestia's reckless nature and immature actions and assume a simple-minded girl. It was moments like this that revealed the real depth of her intelligence.

'What can I say? I'm a talented guy.'

'Hmm,' she said, clearly in doubt. There was nothing I could do to assuage it. I just whistled tunelessly, pretending to have nothing more to say on the matter. She read the signs and grunted in discontent but did not pursue. 'Where are we going?' she asked instead.

At her question, I checked my scroll. 'Uhmm. I've never been to this place before. Let's see. Uhm. It's called Marlissa's Food Heaven.' I had never heard of the place.

She snatched my scroll with a look of disbelief on her face. 'No way.'

'Why? What's wrong with the place?'

'What's wrong with it? What's wrong with it?! Nothing! Marlissa's Food Heaven is brilliant! That place is literally what it claims to be!' By now, she was holding conversation on her own, yours truly completely wiped from her mind. Wherever this Food Heaven was, Lestia's soul was there already.

'I wonder what the hype's about.' I muttered, to nobody in particular. It was just a place to eat in, right? To me, one did not differ too much from another.

At least she seemed awake now.

-x-x-x-x-

As we strolled down the streets of Vale heading for the rendezvous, Lestia prattled on, never letting in a moment of silence or peace. The girl could hold a conversation on anything, I swear. If you wanted the hottest and latest gossip of Beacon, just hang around my partner. She would keep you up to date on just about anyone. The downside, however, was that the others would be up to date on you as well.

'So just yesterday, Weiss and Blake had a massive fight after they went to the city! I hear they aren't even on speaking terms at the moment.' Despite myself, my curiosity was aroused.

'Why? What happened?'

'Hell if I know. Whatever, it is, it's quite serious. Ruby won't tell me squat.'

'Mmm,' I grunted discontentedly, unhappy to be denied the information.

'I did see Blake running off in the night with a faunus though. Maybe both of them has a crush on the guy?'

'You saw what?'

'Blake running off in the middle of a night with a faunus guy.'

'How do you even see all these things?' I asked, incredulous.

'Well, since the guy I was staking out was the said faunus guy, it's not too strange that I saw him bolt off.'

'Don't try to pass off that statement like it's normal. It smells fishy no matter how you phrase it.'

Lestia tried to bite me. No, really. I recoiled in surprise at the unexpected reaction.

'Whoa, there, partner. What the hell are you doing?' I cried out flabbergasted. She just rolled her eyes as if I was the one not making sense.

'Stop being such a dick, Balty. You're gonna hurt my feelings.'

I snorted at the thought that Lestia's feelings could be hurt. 'If I ever manage to do that, I would be the new headmaster of Beacon.'

'You should do something about your sarcasm if you want to the headmaster of anywhere.'

'I don't think I'm at the point where I need virtue lessons from you.'

'Hahaha. Too right.'

'So back on the topic of Weiss, what happened?'

'So Blake was standing by the statue in the squa...' A mischievous grin flitted onto her face. 'You know, I noticed something just now.'

'What?' I snapped, irritated at her pause.

'Whenever I mention Team RWBY, you always ask about Weiss. Why is that?'

I erupted into a fit of coughs. By the time I feebly managed, 'what the hell are you talking about?', her mouth was stretching from ear to ear.

Like a huntress on a trail she pursued. 'That's not all. You bicker with Weiss more animatedly than with anyone else on Team RWBY. You actually pay attention to class presentations if she's the one presenting. You pilfer her pencil case from time to time just to spite her. And these are just the things I can think off on top of my head. I think it's pretty clear what the hell I'm talking about.'

'You're just over-thinking our friendship,' I defended. Okay, true. I might have developed a taste in being a thorn in the side for the heiress – turns out being stuck in a dangerous operation together builds rapport – but there was no way I was inclined towards Weiss the way Lestia was implying.

'Ah, friendship, you say.'

'Yes, friendship.' Funny how I was calling Weiss a friend, something I would never have thought possible just a couple month back.

'You know, Circe and Alex say they are just friends but we all know they're practically soulmates.'

'They are completely different.' No matter what the two said, they were not simply "friends".

'So you say. From my point of view, you and Weiss are about the same,' Lestia opined.

'How are we the sam... You know what? Forget it. I refuse to continue this conversation,' I announced firmly.

Lestia grabbed me before I could escape – despite her size, she was actually stronger than me – and pinned me to the wall. Resisting the natural urge to struggle myself free, I relaxed under her grip. Her triumphant voice sounded from behind me. 'Don't deny your feelings, Balty. It's okay to love a girl way above your station. All it takes to win her is a deal with the devil or something just as easy.' The cobblestone wall was rough and cold, not something I wished to feel with my face.

'You are writing one hell of a fiction, lady.' I hissed through my gritted teeth. I would have said more if it wasn't for the pain that shot through the arm she was holding. Lestia always played rough.

'Come on, be honest with me. I'm your partner, right? We're supposed to share all sorts of secrets,' she teased.

I did not simply stay helpless as my partner taunted me. What I lacked in strength, I made up for in cunning. Using the arm that wasn't locked, I searched my pocket, grabbed what I needed and pressed the item into Lestia's skin, probably her arm. The mini-taser worked its money's worth, shocking the girl into releasing me. Unfortunately, since we were in physical contact with each other, the current traveled through me as well. Both of us fell, not feeling too well with electricity coursing through our body.

Being the fitter one, Lestia got up first. 'Holy crap. I feel like a group of ursa used me as a pinata,' she spat once her speech returned.

I coughed out my reply. 'I can see why you would feel that way.' This was the first time I had a taste of this particular medicine. I hoped I never had to taste it again.

'Is that thing even legal?'

'That, my dear, is a question I do not need an answer on.' I pocketed the tiny, seemingly harmless device. 'Come now, let's go to this Food Heaven of yours before Hestia decides to send assassins after us.'

The huntress cadet gave me a look that said she was going to drop the matter for now but was not going to forget it. It looked like the idea that Weiss and I were an item was deeply rooted in her mind. How annoying. I would be hearing this load of headache for some time.

But that was for future me to handle, not now.

-x-x-x-x-

Marlissa's Food Heaven was a lovely establishment. The premise was comfortably furnished and clean, which placed it above more than half of my usual dining joints, and yet it was not unreasonably priced. The aroma from within got my saliva glands running, promising me great things to be found if I simply stepped in. The fact it was a buffet waiting for me in there seemed almost too good to be true.

The first thought that crossed my mind when I saw Marlissa's Food Heaven was that Harmony would never pay for a meal in a restaurant this high end. Not willingly, at any rate. It wasn't expensive, but then Harmony was miserly when it came to paying for others. That could only mean one thing.

Before Lestia stepped into the nice restaurant, I grabbed her. 'What?' she asked.

'She's going to ambush us.' Her eyes widened in delight when she heard my words. Realising she might blow things out of proportions, I quickly added, 'it's more like a game of tag.'

'Oh,' she muttered. 'Is she good?'

'I have very little chance beating her alone.' This was no humility by my part. Harmony had been in this line of work for about half of her life. A dozen years were a long time to be perfecting the art of sneaking around.

Lestia, rather predictably, perked up at that. She began to stretch lightly, loosening up her body. 'You have a plan?'

The only plan I had at the moment was to not get caught in Harmony's own plans – which I had no doubt were in place, since she was the one who decided on our meeting location – but being frank about lack of plans did not encourage one's allies. This was going to be one of those days I winged everything with my profound power of bullshitting and improvising. Were I alone, such lackluster preparations would not have held against my former partner. This time though, I had my mighty partner to even the odds.

My brain began to kickstart. What advantage did I have? The answer was summed up in one word: Lestia. She gave me a numerical advantage, bringing favor to my side in that regard. Harmony did not know what Lestia looked like, which gave me a tactical advantage as well. If I played that card right, the way to victory just might be available for me.

I sketched a rough plan in my mind. It was simple, since that was all time could permit, but usually simple plans were better anyway. Once I was satisfied with what I had, I motioned at Lestia to listen. 'Lestia, so here's the plan. We're going to...'

'Spare some lien for the needy, young man?' A grandmotherly voice spoke from behind me.

I freaked out a bit more than I should have. 'Holy crap!' I turned around to see an old lady dressed in the most decorative dress I had ever seen. Seriously, the dress looked like one of those worn by dolls I have seen on display in toy shops. The many laces and frills on her were so distracting, annoyingly so, that I barely heard what she was saying.

'… for the sake of the people who live outside the safety of Vale, Pygmalion Foundation is cooperating with our organisation, willing to sell their products at highly reduced price. So if you kind folks could just donate a few lien you possess, it would be of great help to those who live in constant danger from the Grimm.' She shook the donation tin in her hand slightly, the tiny jingle of coins coming from within. The tin held the name of her organisation: Dandelion Society.

I didn't trust this grandmother. It might be the fact she caught me by surprise with her sudden appearance. It might be the fact that she was asking for money on our first encounter. Either way, I was not very inclined to believe her. I had better things to do. Even as I wasted time here being harassed by her, Harmony could detect our presence and home in on us.

'Lestia. Let's go,' I said. I looked over to find her wallet out. 'What are you doing?'

'I'm donating.'

'You're what?' I asked.

The old lady pushed her box forward to let Lestia drop her offerings. 'Such a wonderful lady you are!' she exclaimed. Once her loot was in her grasp, she turned to me, rested her hands on one of my arm and said, 'be more graceful, dear.' With that said, she walked away.

I watched the old lady leave before turning to the huntress. 'I can't believe you just gave her money!'

'She's going to use it for outer towns. Of course I donated.' She huffed as if I was the unreasonable one.

'You don't even know if she was honest. What if she was just taking it for herself?'

'Balty. I think you have a trust issue.' I had absolutely nothing to say to that. 'Were you lied to your whole life? How will she ever get anything done to help the outer towns if nobody supports her?' She gave me an exasperated look, an expression I had never seen her wear before. 'The outer towns need all the help they can get. I won't turn a blind eye to them.'

I decided not to argue, partly because she was correct, partly because I knew her childhood. Who was I to brand her actions as foolish when I had been practically doing the same things? Even if that was not the case, I did not qualify to judge her actions.

Instead, my time could be more well spent by me continuing with our current task: to ambush Harmony. I said to Lestia, 'let's just get on with the planning, shall we?'

'May as well,' she agreed. I took a seat on the raised pavement by the side and motioned at her to sit.

'So here's the plan. Since Hestia does not know you, we are gonna play on that end. I will enter the Food Heaven by myself. You will skirt around stealthily and hunt for her.'

'A simple bait and ambush? Wouldn't she be suspicious if I don't turn up?'

'Absolutely. It will buy us time before she tries to jump me.'

Understanding dawned on her. 'Ahhhh, I see. So we're racing her.'

'Basically, yes. But there's more to that. Listen close. The first thing you need to do once I go inside is...'

Another voice interrupted my instruction. 'Good day to you, young couple! May I have a moment of your time?'

'What the...' I repressed the profanity before it came out loud despite my irritation at yet another interloper. The man was dressed as a businessman, complete with a briefcase at his side. Speaking with civility that did not match my mood, I politely phrased, 'please leave. We're in the middle of something.' Lestia punched me on the arms. 'What?' I asked her.

'Just listen to him, Balty. It won't take that long.'

But take long it did. The man turned out to be an insurance salesman and he spent the next dozen minutes detailing the advantages of his product over its rivals in the market, likely embellishing some facts as he went along. Lestia feigned interest, or at least I assumed she was pretending, but once he reached the fifteen minute mark, I could see that even she was getting bored.

I suppose we appeased him long enough. 'Thank you for your kind explanations. Unfortunately, my sister and I have appointments to attend to. Good bye.' I conveyed my impatience to the salesman, discouraging him from further attempts to persuade us. He received the message, handed us each a token of appreciation – a cheap pen – for our time and offered a halfhearted farewell before leaving.

As I watched the man go, a hand collided into the back of my head. It wasn't a glancing blow either. I crumpled to the ground clutching at the assaulted spot, grimacing. Lestia's voice came from above me. 'You're such a dick at times. There was no need for that.'

'I get a bit cranky when I'm hungry,' I muttered in reply, 'anyway, let me just share the plan with you.' Fearing another interruption, I outlined the plan in haste, skimming over my part of the operation due to time constraints, opting to focus more on her part of the plan. Thankfully, she accepted my selective information dissemination without complaint as she put on her battle-ready attitude. Seeing her so serious, perhaps excessively so, affected me likewise as my focus heightened. We were going to get Harmony.

As we always did before every exercise, we performed a brief check of our radio transceivers as well as individual equipment check. My gears were in order and a curt nod from her informed hers were the same. I motioned her to be off and within seconds, she was gone.

Alright then. Let's get this show on the road. My part in all this was being the bait. It ought to be easy. I was a good bait. Not at all impressive to look at, I rarely intimidated my potential prey who sought to target me. Even those who knew me didn't always feel they had a cause to fear me. All in all, I was the perfect bait.

…

Sometimes I really hate my internal monologues.

Too bad I was prone to talk to myself in the stressful moments. It was a nasty habit to have: to distract oneself just before the critical moments of a mission. I mean loss of concentration meant a plethora of disasters, right? Failing to notice critical signs of danger, poor acting leading to discovery or even being sneaked upon easi...

'Would you like a seat, sir?' said a voice from behind me.

'UAGHHH!' I brandished a throwing knife to fend off the would-be-attacker, my other hand reaching for Fiasco's cocking mechanism.

'Eeeekkk!' My would-be-attacker replied in return, hiding behind the cashier counter. As attackers went, she wasn't too scary to look at. She was around Circe's height, which placed her just slightly shorter than me. Her hair was long and let loose which indicated she was an amateur since long untied hair was a liability in battle. She held no visible weapons nor wore any combat attire, simply a restaurant uniform that said "Marlissa's Food Heaven."

Oh.

Well, to say that was embarrassing would be an understatement. My eyes went to the object she was staring at with wide eyes: my throwing knife. I sheathed the weapon at once.

'Ehehehe, well this is awkward,' I muttered.

She simply looked back, still frightened. Hoo boy, I needed to say something before police got involved.

'Uhm. So I was wondering, is it alright for me to use my own utensils in this shop?' Way to go, brain. That was the best you could come up with?

'Uhmm. Excuse me?' She blinked in lack of understanding.

Oh well, nothing to it but to go for it. 'You know, my knife. I wanted to ask if I could eat the food with my own knife. It's extremely unhygienic to go around sharing knives. Who knows what filthy things a shared knife might have sliced. Mushroom sauce, bones and even onions. I couldn't possibly eat with a knife that contaminated, could I?' I made my statement sound as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, when even in my own mind I sounded like a nutjob.

The waitress seemed to visibly relax as she figured she was handling a simple lunatic instead of homicidal one. 'Absolutely, sir. You may use your own knife as you see fit. If that is all that you have to ask, would you like to show me your seat?'

'Awesome. If you could show me a seat, that would be sweet.'

'Brilliant. Would that be table for one?' Now that her fear was past, she was much more at ease and showing more of her smiles. Which, one might admit did make her look somewhat moderately above-average cute. Too bad she thought me a complete idiot. I predict that demolished my charisma somewhat greatly.

'Yes, please.' I knew there were three of us but until I learned the whereabouts of Harmony, there was no way I was going to let an opening that easy around me.

She gracefully let me to a small table, bade me good lunch and headed back to her counter. I was conflicted between wistful and relieved. Wistful because she was nice to look at and relieved because... well... it was freaking embarrassing.

_'Mushroom sauce, bones and onions?' _Lestia's amused voice filled my ear. Hoo boy.

'If you must jeer, I would like to clarify that I was somewhat panicking at the moment.'

_'No kidding, I could hear you twitch all the way over the radio. I wish I could have watched the whole scene.'_

I rubbed my eyes tiredly, knowing she was going to mention this incident for weeks, and not just to me. 'Well, that makes one of us. So how's your end of the operation?' I tried to change the subject.

_'Other than being entertained by a particular conversation?'_

I gritted my teeth. 'Yes. Other than that.'

_'Rather dry, actually. Sure wish I had a nice chat with someone. A chat that could keep me laughing for hours.'_

'Lestia,' I hissed.

_'Oh, loosen up, Balty. Everything is fine. I already secured an exit. Just head towards the kitchen and there is a side door that they probably use to transport ingredients on the left. Use that if your friend comes to you.'_

Well, that settled the escape route matter. All that was left was... 'are you watching the inside?'

_'Totally. The skylight provides a wonderful spot for me keep tabs on everyone. If I see anybody approaching, you'll get a heads-up.'_

'I see you found somewhere to satisfy your stalker nature,' I jibed.

_'I don't think you're in any position to try to make fun of me, Balty,' _she answered back in a low tone. That killed any comeback I could have come up with.

'Hilarious. Just tell me if you see somebody approaching me,' was all I managed in return.

Lestia replied to my command, and there was a slight degree of urgency in the voice this time as she spoke. _'Balty. Your seven o'clock. Someone's coming. But I don't think you need to worry.' _I tensed up anyway, having born with a slight degree of paranoia, and turned to face the incoming foe.

The first thing I noticed were the many laces and frills that decorated the newcomer's dress. Very familiar laces and frills on a very familiar dress. However, when I looked up to the face of my new guest, it wasn't the wizened old face I had admittedly not taken a closer look at earlier this afternoon. In the dress that was too innocent and child-like for her was my ex-partner, Harmony, with the donation box still in her arms.

Well, Lestia, you were right; there wasn't any need to worry. Since I had already lost.

-x-x-x-x-

Marlissa's Food Heaven delivered as good as I was led to believe. The vegetables were fresh, the meat was tender and the drinks refreshing. Best of all, the quantity was limitless. Lestia devoured the food with glee and without restraint, emptying plate after plate by her side, constructing a porcelain pyramid steadily. Harmony dined in a much more refined manner, although no less ravenously. There was no doubt that these two were enjoying their meals.

I, on the other hand, found it hard to appreciate the occasion since I was going to be the one paying for it.

'So you dressed up and put on make up, got yourself a donation box and tagged me even before I could prepare my defences.' My ex-partner nodded as she consumed her food. It was brilliant and simple, which irritated me all the more because of how easily I had fallen for it. 'Was the Dandelion Society just a sham?'

Harmony swallowed the food in her mouth before saying, 'oh no. Dandelion Society is real. It really does what it says.' I see. Remembering what she said about the Dandelion Society earlier, it was Harmony's cover in case she ever needed to get close to Pygmalion Foundation for a heist. Sort of like a small investment to make her work easier. It was likely she had footholds such as these with most of the major corporations in Vale.

'You could have just told me you won when you tapped me on the arm just now.'

'What? And miss the mushroom sauce, bones and onions? No way.' Harmony grinned as she spoke and Lestia let out a stifled laughter by my side, to my chagrin.

In between the bites, Lestia mumbled, 'I can't believe... that you disguised as... a grandmother and... tricked him so easily.'

'Lestia. Don't talk with your mouth full,' I said.

'Mrrffpgh,' she retorted.

'A sentiment I agree to completely,' said Harmony.

I gave my old friend an annoyed look. 'Don't encourage her.'

'Oh, Brea... Balthazar-' my real name sounded weird rolling off Harmony's tongue- 'I would support you except your friend is so much cuter than you'll ever be.'

'Really, Hestia? This is hardly the time and place.' I, on the other hand, had no problem calling her with a fake name. Even Harmony was no more a genuine name than Breaker was.

'Time and place for what?' asked Lestia, who reliably remained oblivious.

'Never mind, Lestia. Just eat.' She bobbed her head in agreement and obeyed.

Harmony was wrapping up on her meal though. Displaying signs of being content, she was more interested in engaging us in conversations. She asked seemingly innocent questions about Beacon Academy that could assist her infiltrate the facility if she tried. I frowned and kicked her under the table.

'Aw! What the hell, Balty!' Lestia exclaimed.

'Oops. Sorry, Lestia,' I apologised. I tried again with an improved aim but Harmony had already evacuated her leg. She shot me a smirk. I sent her a glare.

'So, Balty,' Harmony's smirk got even wider as she stressed on the second word, 'how have you been? You never write, you never call. I was under the impression you had forgotten me.'

'Well, I had a few life-spicing activities, none of which I wish to re-experience ever again.'

Lestia piped in, 'hiifnfaahtanaanfedrimm.'

'Yes, Lestia. Thank you for that contribution. Please, don't stop your eating on my account,' I said. The less coherent words she said, the better.

'How very exciting. Sure beats the work we used to have when we were together, huh?' said Harmony.

At this, Lestia actually bothered to swallow up the food in her mouth to ask, 'just out of curiosity, Hestia; what sort of work did you two actually do?'

'Oh? Did Balthazar not tell you?' Lestia shook her head. Harmony looked at me and scolded. 'Shame on you, Balthazar. You're supposed to share everything with your partner. Didn't I drill that into your head enough?'

'Stop it, Hestia. You're not my mother.'

'I doubt any mother will teach a child of hers the things I taught you.'

'You know what I'm trying to say.'

'I do. And I wish a day will come when you understand what I'm trying to sa...' Her abrupt mid-stop brought both Lestia's and my attention. She had an intense look in her eyes, one with too much gravity to be gleaming in a meal between friends.

'What's wrong?' The young huntress asked, echoing my thoughts.

The thief ignored her and spoke to me, 'incoming hostiles.' Being sensitive to the emotions of those around her, Harmony's semblance gave her a slight early warning whenever people bore her ill will.

'How many?' I asked, getting all serious.

'At least a dozen.' Crap.

Lestia waved a hand in front of me. 'Hello! Care to fill me in?'

I shoved the arm away. 'Not now, Lestia. Just get ready to fight.' She noticed the severity in my command and fell silent, leaving me free to discuss the situation with Harmony further. 'How intact do they want us?'

Harmony remained unresponsive a moment longer before informing me, 'I think these guys are serious, Breaker. I can't deter them in the slightest. At worst case, they could be assassins.' Well, that was a bad news. Harmony's semblance had no effect whatsoever on emotions backed by determination. Whoever these people were, they were likely impossible to dissuade.

'How the hell did you not sense them?' I questioned her.

'They just appeared all at once! You're lucky I warned you as early as I did.' To be honest, she was probably right.

'Who are they? Did you make any enemies recently?'

'I've been minding my own business like a good little girl. No new enemies.'

Well, that left one possibility. 'Do you think it's them?' I was referring to those Harmony suspected of having killed Bernand.

'You mean the ones I warned you about last time? Yes I do, Breaker. Yes I do.' Her answer was not too comforting, mind.

No use lamenting though. 'Alright. How do we play this? Do we go hard from the start? Do I use chemical or electrical?' Harmony was still much more experienced in real emergencies, so I deferred to her when it came to making snap decisions.

Harmony considered. 'I don't see a need to go hard right off the bat. Let's stay with electrical for now. Less complications that way.' At her words, I loaded Fiasco with taser rounds, leaving the tranquilizers untouched. Tranquilizers were more reliable if it came to knocking people out but there was always a chance it could trigger a bad, and potentially fatal, reaction if their physiology could not stand it.

There was one other thing in my mind, 'how about you? Are you going...?'

She understood what I was asking. 'Lethal? I don't see a need for that. Not yet anyway. Leaving bodies is bad for staying low profile. Let's bring out the big guns if the situation really calls for it, Breaker.'

Lestia, who had been remaining silent since my last comment, broke the silence and inquired, 'what the hell are you two talking about? And who the hell is Breaker?' Harmony and I shared a look. Oh crap. I did not need my cover being blown right now.

Harmony, on the other hand, cared not as much about keeping my past a secret. 'Buckle up, huntress. Looks like you're going to find out what we used to be in the past after all.' Lestia gave me a questioning look. And Lestia with a question was a lot of trouble if you had the answer and did not wish to share it. Ughh.

I knew meeting Harmony was a bad idea.

-x-x-x-x-

**A/N: So it's slightly shorter than the rly long chpts, which kinda means I was taking my sweet ass time. This arc is probably in two chpts (I say probably because I was not so gd breaking down an arc last time. Hopefully, I'm better this time.)**

**As one might have noticed, according to timeline, this arc happening right on the last episode of season 1. Finally. I can't believe it took me this long to reach this much. If you've been reading BotB so far (of course you guys did. Who would be reading the latest chpt of this story if they have not done so for all the chpts before it?), you know I'm not the guy who introduce upon the canon plot of the story. This is no different; I will not have Balt and his friends alter how it really went down btw Ruby and Roman. Instead, I will weave my story to fit what happened, to make why sth happened the way it happened.**

**And while we are on the subject of canonverse, I have a question I wanted to ask for the future plot of BotB. Season 2 is much shorter in terms of timeline than Season 1. I already have the major plot points to match the timeline of Season 2 all the way to the season finale and slightly beyond (the slightly beyond seems so far off though). The question I wanted to ask is, would you guys like the filler chpts in between every major arcs or do you like having the story progressing along? Admittedly, BotB moves at a much slower pace than pretty much every other story I read and if I do put in the filler chpts every instance I feel is suitable, I fear this will drag till HTTYD 3 comes out (I love that thing btw).**

**So which do you think is better? Should I cut on unnecessary and likely lighter mood incidents? Or do you think going on always about the main plot is too dry? Do tell.**

**Another thing I wanted to ask. So far, Balt has not killed anybody since he feels strongly against such things. When he finally meets the enemies (which is soon, I promise), do you think he will resort to ending the villains for good or leave them be to restart their work on another day? I'm considering both his reluctance to kill and his pragmatism as I ask this question.**

**Right, this A/N was long. Food for thoughts, I guess. desoldeben out.**


	17. Chapter 17: Three's a Company: part 2

****DISCLAIMER: Those that ought to belong to others shall belong to their respective owners. Those that ought to belong to me, if any, shall belong to me.** **

**A/N: OMG, an update within two weeks! This is truly a historic day, my fellow brethren. For, on this day, for once, I fear not the Inquisition of Deadlines that had so haunted me for past few months.**

**Dccrulez: I am not giving power. Personally, I believe that if you are going to write something and post it for others, you have to be considerate to those reading. No point sharing something that won't be pleasant to others. I just like to view others' opinions, that's all. This last statement applies on Balt's willingness to kill as well. I just want to know how the readers feel.**

**silthara: Honestly, Lestia is more ruthless than Balt. If it came down to it, I say Lestia will have least qualms abt killing among the Team BLAC, followed closely by Alex.**

**ReploidCat: Thank you very much. This style is where I'm slightly more skillful at. You shld see me attempt romance. Now that's a revolting pile of diction (reason why I don't put the genre in this story)**

**Without further ado, enjoy your perusal, or skim. Depending on your appetite.**

-x-x-x-x-

Three's a Company: part 2

I glanced behind Harmony and noted the three smartly dressed men entering the Food Heaven. If one ignored the curious fact that they have used the entrance by the kitchen, nothing about them would have been out of the ordinary. 'Three more behind,' I hissed to my ex-partner.

'That's three by the main door, three outside the windows and three from side exit.' Harmony tallied the total. 'We're still missing a few.'

Lestia by my side tapped at my arm. 'I think I found them.' She pointed overhead. Keeping my head still facing forward, so as to not give any indication to the enemy, I looked above and caught a snatch of the same smart suit in the skylight.

'Right. Lestia found the last of them, I think,' I said to Harmony. Then I turned to my partner. 'Lestia, eyes front. Don't let them know we know.' She obeyed, stuffing her mouth once more with the food. I chuckled despite the gravity of the situation.

Harmony clicked her fingers to get my attention. 'What's your frequency? I wanna be on radio.' She paused for a moment and give me a look. 'You do still use radio, right?'

'What the hell, Harmony. I didn't get brain damage over the last few months. Of course I still use radio.' I handed her my own transceiver so that she could fix the radio frequency on hers.

'I don't know, Breaker. I never really could tell when you had brain damage or not,' she replied.

I was about to retort but Lestia beat me to it. 'Okay, I was gonna be patient but screw this,' she looked at me, irritation plan in her eyes. 'Why does she call you Breaker?'

'Really, Lestia? Now?' I took another peek at the men in suits. They didn't seem like they were about to launch an attack any time soon.

My partner grabbed my collar and redirected my wandering eyes to hers. 'Yes. Now. Tell me what's going on now or I'm gonna start attacking these freaks who have us surrounded just so I can get an explanation from you afterwards.'

'I think you should tell her, Breaker. I think she means it.' Harmony's amused voice contributed to the conversation.

Freaking hell. Nobody wants to make things easy for me. I pulled off her hands from my collar before other people started noticing something was amiss. 'Alright, alright. Chill.' She waited expectantly, controlling herself for the moment.

How much do I tell her? 'I used to work with Harmony under the code name "Breaker". Once I got to Beacon though, I figured my code name days were behind me so I chose to use my real name: Balthazar Venarius.' There, that should cover it. No need to needlessly reveal my past.

'Why did you even need code names?' Lestia asked.

'Because I liked privacy. I didn't want my daily life being interrupted by people from work.' I hoped she would be satisfied by now.

Harmony spoke up, 'what he is refusing to tell you is that Breaker was a very prominent thief in the criminal world of Vale. Your friend here is actually a very well known figure. Well, his alias is, anyway.'

I looked sharply at her. 'Harmony!' Why did she say that?

She shrugged back. 'What? Breaker, you seriously do not think you can keep her in the dark, do you? Look, just let her know you were a well-established thief who decided to grab his chance to be a huntsman when it was offered to him. Either she will accept, because that's about all she can do, or she won't, in which case she's an idiot.'

'She also happens to be right here.' Lestia didn't look happy.

'Look, Lestia...' I began.

She cut me off. 'No. You shut up for a moment,' hearing her tone, I complied. She turned to Harmony, 'please continue, Hestia.'

Harmony smiled. 'First, I'm called Harmony; nice to meet you. Now, I'll keep this short because we do have other company. Breaker and I are... well... were partners in crime. Multiple crimes, to be exact. We were one of the best burglars in the business and that's mostly due to your partner here,' she gestured to me, 'then, a few months back, he screwed up, got caught by the police and was offered a place in your academy by your headmaster. He took it and voila, here we are.'

I wanted to toss Harmony off the top of a skyscraper. Multiple times. From a very tall skyscraper. 'How nice, Harmony. Why don't you just take a microphone and blare away to the whole world while you're at it.'

I would have continued my rant if it was not for Lestia. 'You! Why didn't you tell me all this?' I flinched at her shouting. At the edge of my vision, I noticed our well-dressed friends getting restless.

'Lestia, relax!' I hissed. I gestured at Harmony to keep an eye out on the enemy while I tried to get my partner under control.

'Don't tell me to relax, you lying ass hole! You should have told me!' Even the normal customers of the restaurant were taking note of us now.

'Lestia, you're being unreasonable.' I tried in vain to calm her down.

'Don't give me unreasonable, you stinking bastard. I'm your partner! I deserved to know!'

You know what, screw this. I slammed my fists onto the table. 'As far as I'm concerned, nobody else other than me has the right to choose who gets to know what about me. I decide what to share. I decide who to confess to. Just because the circumstance forced this revelation does not mean you get to holler about whether my decision was wrong.'

Lestia was about to retort but Harmony beat her to it. 'While all this arguing is fun to watch,' she brandished her crossbow, 'heads up. They are coming.' Instantly, both of us stopped in our tracks. The argument was going to have to wait.

Half a second later, all twelve of them converged on us. Glass shattered as those behind the window and the skylight smashed their ways in. The other customers screamed and scattered or cowered away from the suited men who ignored them. We were all they cared about.

I flipped our table and placed it between us and them. I heard sounds of other tables being flipped and guessed that our enemies were doing the same. Well, they were not the stupid sort then. Fortune forbids that windfall to come our way.

'Balt, what's our plan?' Lestia asked.

'Harmony is in command for this situation. Listen to her.' Both women nodded at my words, Harmony assuming the command and Lestia accepting my instruction. Lestia turned to Harmony, her question now directed to her.

Harmony got up and fired a bolt before ducking back. Gunshots reverberated soon afterwards. 'They don't all have guns. Only one per team. Small calibre. The others are armed with some sort of baton.'

'Batons?' I exclaimed, 'that doesn't sound like they wanna kill us.' Batons were the sort of weapons one used when he did not want his enemy dead.

'Wouldn't that be something. Well, we're already using non-lethal so I don't think we need to play nicer,' Harmony stated, 'what they do have, however, is formation. They are separated in small groups and aren't wasting all their ammo while we're under cover. These guys aren't some thugs with toys; they had training.' A gunshot rang overhead, as if to assent to her words.

'Couldn't be as good as Beacon training, right?' Lestia commented, unfazed by the gunfire.

Harmony snickered. 'No, I presume not. So here's what we're going to do. Breaker, get your visor on.'

'I, what?' I muttered.

'Your visor, Breaker. You did bring it, right?'

'Well, I did but...' I trailed off. I was still reluctant to use my visor, as I had always been ever since having seen Weiss in Beacon. 'I have a respirator too.' I brought it out, hoping Harmony would let me use that instead.

Harmony had a different idea. 'Good. Give the respirator to your girlfriend.'

'I, what?' I repeated.

Harmony now had an annoyed expression. 'Give the respirator to Lestia and put your fucking visor on, Breaker. Do you not understand English?' I stared at her for a moment longer, trying to see if there was a way out without me putting my visor on. 'BREAKER!' Harmony yelled at my hesitation.

Aw, screw this. Weiss wasn't here. I pushed my visor on and felt it link up with my transceiver. The HUD lit up in front of me. The audio was now controlled, designed to reduce exceedingly loud noises while amplifying softer ones. I now breathed air that was filtered, safe from all form of gaseous attacks. Harmony and I called this thing a visor but to be frank, it was more of a helmet.

I gave my respirator and shades to Lestia so that she would have moderate protection from visual and gaseous attacks. 'This is so cool,' she said, before putting on the equipment.

Harmony's voice rang directly into my ear, clear and crisp thanks to the expensive hardware. 'Thank goodness that's over with. Let's start with Number Six then. The baton guys are closing in.'

Number Six. Number Six. What was Number Six? Double flash followed by stink? No, that's Number Four. Was it the decoy plus fake blood? It couldn't be. That illusion did not work at this close range.

'Anytime you're ready.' Harmony murmured frustrated. Perhaps prompted by her urgency, I miraculously recalled what Number Six was. I unpinned the smoke grenades and began to spread them around within the building. As smoke rose from the canisters, cries of dismay came from the remaining civilians as they finally panicked enough to flee the scene.

The bullets pinged of our table less as the smoke impeded their aim. With some breathing room, the three of us were finally able to fire at the approaching enemies. They scattered behind cover, their formations wavering as they thinned out.

'Lestia, go start knocking the ones at the fringe. We'll cover you,' I said.

'Okie-dokie.' With a breeze, she was gone.

Harmony's voice came over the transceiver. 'Breaker. That is not Number Six.'

'Number Six is only for the two of us. She has nothing to do,' I replied. As I spoke, there was a faint sound of furniture shattering in the background, followed by a muffled cry cut short. Lestia must have found her first victim.

Harmony was silent on her end, probably realising the truth of my words. 'Fine. Just don't screw up your steps,' she said.

'Aye, aye, captain.' Time for the next phase of Number Six. I ran my hand over the vambrace on my other arm and found the button I was searching for. The HUD shifted to thermal vision, revealing the locations of our foes. Out of the twelve, only eight were remaining. Damn, Lestia worked fast.

Still, it was not fast enough. Both Harmony and I knew these twelve were simply the vanguard forces. They were basically pegs to keep us here as the full force of their army bore down on us.

'Harmony. I'm starting,' I announced.

'Yeah. Do it.' She shot an arrow at an exposed foot of an enemy gunslinger. He screamed as his foot became pinned to the ground.

I pulled out three more grenades. 'That was harsh.'

'Keep in perspective that I could have easily shot him through the neck. It doesn't look too bad that way.' I conceded her the point. She could have killed all these guys as soon as they exposed themselves; Harmony had always been the deadlier of the two of us. For a brief moment, I wondered how great a huntress she could have been with proper Beacon training. I pushed the thought away immediately afterwards since idle thoughts were not conducive in a combat situation. Something else to ponder on later.

'Here you go,' I passed her a grenade. 'You can get the ones on the left.'

'Roger. Pull.' At her command, I pulled the pins off both my grenades.

Time to give Lestia the heads up. 'Partner. You might wanna pull out from there. We're about to give them a special package.' I tossed both grenades, one in each hand. By my side, Harmony threw hers. The grenades detonated perfectly at their destination, not giving the enemy chance to toss it back. We knew how to cook grenades.

Lestia settled down by my right once more, perspiration glistening on the exposed parts of her face. She must have had a blast. She looked beyond our cover to see the effects of the grenades before commenting, 'more gas? That's boring.'

Boy, was she wrong. 'Not just any gas though. Watch.' She peered at our enemy again.

One by one, the attackers dropped out of their cover, their weapons dropping from their hands. Some of them lost their balance and collapsed to the ground while those standing began to shudder. 'You poisoned them?' Lestia asked, alarmed.

'Of course not,' I clarified indignantly. 'It's a laugh gas.' Even as I spoke, their laughter began to get louder. The gas was taking full force of their systems.

'Awesome,' she said.

Nothing started a manhunt like detonating a poison cloud in the middle of a city. Laugh gas, on the other hand, triggered less alarm bells. It was still a good way to disable a bunch of people reliably. The laughter caused the person to breathe in more air – or in this case, the gas – reinforcing the chemical within the body with each laughter.

'Well, we should leave while these guys are enjoying themselves. The next wave is sure to be here soon.' Harmony advised, shifting my attention to the situation at hand. We weren't out of the woods yet.

'You're right. Let's go.'

-x-x-x-x-

One thing I loved about Vale was that nobody glanced twice even if you strolled down the streets with a visor covering your face. To a passerby, a pair of man and woman with their faces covered under some screens just meant they were a couple with a weird fetish. Not the best impression to leave, I know, but extremely convenient.

_'So did you steal a lot of money?' _Lestia's question buzzed into our ears, despite the fact that she was a few storeys above ground.

'Money, jewels, contracts, even a container full of dust.' Harmony shared information without inhibition, to my chagrin. 'There wasn't much that was safe from us.'

_'Wow, you must be rich. Right, Balty?'_

'You don't know the half of it. He has several accounts under false identities. Every one of them are quite well off.'

I growled my words through the transceiver. 'That's enough, Harmony. I would like to have a few secrets by the end of the day,' I said a few words to my partner as well, 'Lestia. Don't forget that you're our lookout. If you miss them, we are going to be in some shit.'

My rebuke flew right over the huntress's head. _'Oh, relax, Balty. I won't miss anything. So, Harmony. Do tell a bit more; just how rich are we talking about?'_

_'_Interested in the numbers, are you? Well, I estimate about...' Ugh. This was the last time I ever brought these two together. I felt more stressed now than when I had taken on Lycan.

I tuned out their conversation, determined not to get sidetracked by their nosiness. Despite of the two gossipers' carefree manners, we were still very much in danger of getting found. While I was relatively unencumbered by immediate action, I wanted to invest some brain power on the circumstance at hand.

First, let's look at the facts. We were attacked by a dozen of guys in business attire. They were patient and coordinated in their attack but were easily dealt with a few choice grenades. They were equipped with fairly weak weapons like batons and pistols. They had no qualms vandalising properties and yet did not even touch the civilians. These were about all I could gleam from that brief encounter just now.

So what did these tell me?

The first thing that jumped at me was their indifference to civilains. It was certainly an indication of restraint. Harming unrelated citizens was the best way of getting the best of the police – and some huntsmen if the body count was high enough – on one's tail. Clearly these guys did not wish for that. Unfortunately, this snippet of information did not help me identify our assaulters' organisation. Even marketmen did not touch civilians in armed conflict except for the most fanatical ones. Excluding the more ruthless groups from my list of suspects did not reduce my list much.

Luckily, their attires shed more light on the matter. Business suits. Those things were fairly expensive as an uniform for henchmen. They were not good in a fight and needed regular maintenance. In fact, there was only one reason a person chose to dress all his minions in suits: impression. Business suits created an image of being legitimate. This meant our chasers were either above-ground, non-criminal in nature or they were marketmen who constructed such a facade on a regular basis – like Junior with his club.

Perhaps I could cut the list further. They were a bit well trained for undermarket henchmen. Harmony and I kept tabs on the more powerful groups in undermarket and we had no idea who these guys were. I was certain they were above-ground, likely some deployable muscles under a wing of a corporation for instances when brute forces were convenient.

And yet, despite their training, they were too susceptible to a simple gas grenade attack. Unless this was a heinous oversight in their training, the lack of gas masks only meant one thing: the organisation after us was massive. Getting gas masks for twenty well-trained men was profitable. Getting the masks for two hundred such men? A bit too expensive. Getting the masks for two thousand? At such numbers, men were expendable, not worth protecting too much.

Were they really assassins though? I had my doubts.

It was their weapons. Batons and pistols were hardly assassination tools. Oh sure, pistols can kill normal people – or people like me, who sucked at fighting – but they were hardly going to take down somebody like Harmony. And batons? An unlikely assassination weapon if there ever was one. No matter how I looked at it, these guys did not seem like they were there to kill us.

It didn't mean I was about to lay down and surrender though. As far as I was concerned, anybody who came at me with a weapon was not a friend of mine. That meant running away in the opposite direction as fast as possible.

'So I try not to disturb him when he gets all mopey like this. He can get so grouchy at times.' The latest of Harmony's words caught my ears.

'I do not get mopey and grouchy.'

'Ah, he speaks. Well, it was good while it lasted,' she commented, earning a giggle from my rooftop-bound partner.

'Were you badmouthing me the whole time?' I asked, irritated.

'No,' she answered.

_'Yes,' _Lestia supplied.

'Great. Just great. This is the last time I ever accept your offer for a meal, let me tell you.'

'A threat I take to heart with most trepidation,' she retorted.

_'What were you thinking about, Balty?'_

'Just wandering about who these guys could be.'

'They are assassins,' said Harmony, 'I don't understand why you need to think so much on the simple truth.'

'I don't think they are. I think they...'

_'Balthazar,' _Lestia cut in urgently,_ 'I see something. I don't like it.'_

That caught my attention. 'What is it?'

_'It's a...' _she trailed off, as if distracted. I wanted to scream at her to tell me but the rational part of my mind knew better than to do such a thing. My patience was rewarded with a worried _'they are coming by the rooftops. I think they found us,' _from Lestia.

'Not just rooftops. There a few on the streets level.' She motioned at some figures behind us, still far away. It was a bit difficult to tell but it looked as if they were from the same cut of cloth as those back in Marlissa's Food Heaven.

'Are they the same bunch?' I asked the other two.

_'They are jumping over rooftops. I don't think they are exactly the same,' _said Lestia.

'They probably sent those better equipped this time,' opined Harmony.

That made sense. If the previous tier of minions were not enough to take us down, it didn't make sense to send the same level again. 'So what's our game?'

Harmony pondered for a moment. 'Let's split.'

_'Split?' _Lestia repeated, as if she was not sure if she heard my thief friend correctly.

To me, though, it made sense. If we went separately, the pursuers had to do the same. When you were running away, you wanted your chasers as with as little manpower as possible. 'Alright. Where do we rendezvous?'

'I'll send the marker to your scroll. Pass it onto your girlfriend.' She pulled out hers and began typing.

'Can you stop the girlfriend thing please?' I requested. Lestia heard the request and laughed, finding it funny for some reason.

Harmony knocked me on the head before diving into a side alley. _'You're such a prude, boy. Be like Lestia; she's cool.' _At her departure, footsteps rattled from behind as our chasers put on speed to stop our escape.

I muted my mic before muttering, 'why is that I always become the weird one?' I began to run in the opposite direction, checking my scroll to see where my destination was.

-x-x-x-x-

Six guys. I was worth six guys. Lestia had nine on her tail. Harmony had fifteen.

Good to know where I stood in their perspective.

The good thing was, losing six guys was cake. Whoever these guys were, their intelligence was no good. Harmony was better than me at fighting but when it came to running, we were on even footings – and that was if I was being generous.

They should have at least sent sixteen.

Whoa. Did I just say that? Damn it, brain; listen to yourself. You wanted more guys to follow me? What the hell have you been smoking?

Beacon madness. That was what I had been smoking.

Internal monologue aside, evading these guys were not too difficult. They stayed in their groups of threes and that slowed them down. When you are hunting in a group, there are two things you need to do. You need to lead your target and you need to trap him. They should have spread out to limit my mobility and boxed me in. Staying all bunched up was no way to get that done.

I took another look at the time on the scroll. I suppose I delayed long enough. Time to cut my tail.

We were currently in the secluded part of the district. The infrastructure here was poor and cramped. The residents were mostly marketmen and those who weren't were smart enough to mind their own business. All in all, it was not the friendliest place in Vale. I knew this area very intimately.

I entered a dilapidated building to my right, the tattered front door hardly barring my passage. There used to be offices of small businesses here but that was a long time ago. Now, it was just a structure mostly frequented by the poor, the homeless and the desperate.

Seeing me enter, my six tails followed in a hurry. I made sure there was enough of me for them to chase in this concrete maze as I lead them to the stairwell. Clambering the familiar steps nimbly, I took out a grenade that had not seen use in months. A spark of pleasure surged at the idea I was going to use this again. Knowing timing was crucial, I pulled its safety pin so that it was ready to be dropped anytime.

Eventually, the slam of a door came from below, echoing throughout the stairwell. 'Bon appetit.' I dropped the flashbang grenade to the cluster below. The explosion occurred almost immediately afterwards, thanks to my remarkable skill. The earpiece suppressed the explosion to comfortable levels for me. I was confident that was not how the guys downstairs would describe the experience.

I sneaked a peek down to see the aftermath. I think I saw a guy out cold. Someone was definitely vomiting by the sound of it. Pleased with the result, I exited from the stairwell, having considerably reduced my tail.

Now that I was on the second floor, my next order of business was getting back to the first. I know, I know; I just came from there. But trust me, there was a method to my madness.

There were three ways I could achieve my short-term goal. I could return to the stairs and fight my way through the remaining foes. I could jump out the nearest window to the cobblestones below. Or I could be smarter.

If memory served, room 207 had a hole in the floor, a courtesy of a pair of wannabe weapons manufacturers in an experiment gone wrong. They were before my time but their legacy lived on, constantly used by the likes of my kind till today.

Does the existence of such a pathway feel too convenient? Not in the least. I did not choose this building randomly, you know. The abandoned areas of the city that no self-respecting citizens traveled to were our domain. Only we knew their secrets and, despite their muddy and dirt-ridden nature, they kept us alive. We learned and memorised every safe routes we could find and where there weren't any, we created them. This was the undermarket way.

I plopped down to the first floor and headed back to the stairwell, this time intending to go down.

My second visit to the stairwell's first floor was welcomed by two unconscious men and another guy who looked as if he had just gotten off the back of a Nevermore in the middle of a barrel roll. His eyes widened in surprise at my appearance but his call for help was cut off by a loud roar of Fiasco. He spasmed as the the taser round robbed him of his last shred of consciousness and he collapsed into a tiny puddle of squishy substance by his side. Eww. That was not going to wash off.

Footsteps echoed from above as my remaining admirers retraced their steps. They must have heard Fiasco's greeting and were eager to meet it. Time for the next station, I guess. I hopped my way to the basement.

By now, it probably was not too big a surprise that there was a tunnel to another building – a structural modification that was absolutely illegal, by the way – in the basement. It was utterly dark here but that posed me no trouble. A press of a button on the vambrace converted my perception to night vision. Giving off no external light, I was going to be difficult to pursue in the dark.

However, that alone did not guarantee a clean getaway. I had something else to that effect.

Since my encounter with Lycan, I was hit with an inspiration for my grenades. Today, I finally got to test it. I pulled forth another grenade and pulled its safety pin. If I simply threw the thing behind me now, it would just detonate when its fuse burned out. But that was not what I had in mind.

From one of my many pockets emerged another pin, similar in shape but completely different in composition. I plugged it in the space previously occupied by the safety pin. After making sure it was secure, I tossed the grenade behind me. Just for a good measure, I took out another of the same grenade and repeated the procedure. Even by the time I reached the end of the tunnel, the grenades did not explode.

Wishing to see the fruits of my labor, I waited for the three remaining marauders to come. It took them awhile but they did, eventually. It took them even longer to muster the courage to start heading my way. In the pitch black darkness of the tunnel, with only the weak light of their scrolls to illuminate the way, I could understand why they were hesitant. I waited in the reassuring embrace of the dark, contentedly observing, waiting. Slowly but surely, they skittered their way towards the end. They were arriving the event zone and I dared not blink lest I might miss the spectacle.

Five metres.

Four.

Three.

Two.

One.

Torrent of white cloud devoured them as they tripped the sensor attached to my foam grenade.

The dense substance took them from my sight but I could imagine how it must be like for them. Without warning, their world had disappeared, replaced by rigidity that stripped them of their mobility as well as their sight. Not knowing the harmless nature of the foam grenades, they were probably scared stiff.

Well, time to go. They were neutralized. It was going to take them hours to leave the foams and if they chose to follow me after that, another dose awaited them.

As for my sensor pins, it looked as if they performed splendidly. I have not yet tried the laser sensor ones but I expected them to be just as good as their motion sensor counterparts. Anderson did good work.

One part of me, the most juvenile part of my psyche, was merrily singing away at the fact that from now on, I had mines.

I reentered the world of surface dwellers. With my transceiver finally getting some signal, I decided to brief the others about my current situation. Not brag about how I easily dealt with the miscreants, mind you. Just a simple briefing.

'Hey, girls. You're not going to believe what I just did,' I started.

_'Breaker, you twice damned son of a bitch. Where are you?' _answered Harmony.

'Just outside the Anchor Street. What's wrong?' By her tone, something serious was at hand.

_'Lestia needs help. Go to her.' _My scroll beeped as she spoke, probably her sending me my partner's coordinates.

According to Harmony's coordinates, Lestia's last location was near the harbor. I began to run. 'How bad is she?'

_'The last I heard from her was a scream. The line went dead after that.'_ Fuck, that was serious. Lestia did not scream.

I was going to need to steal a car.

-x-x-x-x-

So I knew the general direction I needed to go but it wasn't to a pinpoint degree. To find out exactly where I needed to go meant I needed to call her. If the radio transceiver did not work, maybe her scroll still might. I dialed her number, praying to Fortune that my partner would pick up.

The Lady Luck must have been in a good mood because after three rings Lestia whispered, 'Balty?'

'Where are you?' I wanted to ask how she was doing but I had no idea how long she could talk. Her location was priority.

_'Oh god, it is you,'_ she murmured in relief.

'Where are you, Lestia. I'm heading your way.'

_'Near the harbor. I think Westland Road. Come back me up, Balty. I can't face these guys alone.'_

'Who are they?'

_'One of them is ranged. Shooting harpoons at impossible distances. I haven't even seen the guy yet. The other one is this creepy bitch in grey shirt and skirt who walks around planting totem poles. I tried to rush her but when I'm near one of those totems it screeches like a banshee. I can't go past those.'_

'Screeches?'

_'Yes. It's insane. The first time it happened, It hurt so much I ripped the radio off in confusion. I never thought noise could be this painful.'_ Damn. Lestia was the only one among the three of us who did not have an auditory protection. Whoever these guys were, they had picked up on this and had used it against her.

'Where are they now?'

_'I don't know. I'm weaving through the alleys trying to locate the harpoon launcher. Maybe if I take him out, I can draw the girl from the totems.'_ I felt a surge of pride at how my partner refused to roll over just because she was outmatched. Lestia always sought ways to fight back.

'I'm heading there now. Wait for me.' I disconnect the call and spoke into my radio. 'Harmony, I found Lest...'

_'Not now, Breaker! I'm occupied. You need to get her by yourself.' _The rush of static afterwards told me she had killed the communication. Picking up on how stressed she sounded, I wondered how bad her situation was. Still, she did not ask for help so it had to be yet manageable. I should concentrate on saving Lestia.

A soft buzz came from above the car. What the? I looked at the ceiling of my stolen vehicle, not that doing so helped me hear better. The buzzing was still there but it was faint, so much that I thought I was conjuring it in my mind.

Then a freaking saw blade bit through the roof and I knew it was not my imagination.

Blurting out a list of vulgarities that would have made Harmony proud, I grabbed Fiasco and fired upwards. The standard steel-tipped rounds went through the hood without hesitation, interrupting the enemy's saw blade from introducing the inside of the car to the sky above.

Sadly, revolvers were not known for their great magazine size – in fact, they did not even have magazines. As soon as I stopped firing, the man resumed his work, quickly cutting a hole in the ceiling. Then he dropped a cylinder canister right on top of me. I glanced at the object and did a double take.

It was a freaking grenade.

That's it, I'm getting off this car.

I let go of the steering wheel and grabbed the explosive. Hitting it with malfunction so that it would not detonate, I opened the door and leapt out of the vehicle. Just because I could negate one grenade was no reason to believe I would be successful with others. Much more prudent to ditch the metallic coffin and make a break for it.

I rolled the best I could to break my fall but that didn't stop the pain from welcoming my decision. I got up gingerly and quickly made sure all my limbs were in working order. It hurt liked hell to move any of my body parts but I was functional. Then I surveyed the surroundings, looking for the man who had lobbed the grenade. He didn't seem anywhere in sight.

Suddenly, my instinct screamed at me to duck and I complied. There was a soft whirl of wind overhead as a dagger buzzed past where my shoulder blade had been. I lobbed a few knives behind me as I retreated from the attacker. A few metallic clangs, instead of the soft thuds of hitting flesh, told me my counterattack had been ineffective.

However, it did earn me enough distance from my opponent, letting me have a good look at him. He was a tall and slender man, dressed in a garb of black. There was a mask over his nose and mask. In each hand was a dagger just as slender as its owner. Tied onto the straps on his torso were various tools I could recognize from my previous line of work, including the diamond coated electric saw and a plethora of grenades. I didn't need to be a genius to know this guy was not a friend.

'Who are you?' I asked, reloading my Fiasco.

'You know, they told me not to kill you, but they didn't say you had to be unharmed.' Blood chilled in my veins as I listened to him. But it was not because of his words I felt fear. It was his voice.

He was speaking with my voice.

'What the fuck are you?' I asked, training Fiasco on him

'Now, ain't that rude, Breaker. We just met, you know.' This time, the voice was Lestia's. My grip shook for a moment before I brought it under control. Although his mouth was covered, I could somehow tell he was smirking underneath.

Stop being so spooked, Balthazar. It's just voice imitation. Yes, it was startling and creepy but that's all it did. I took in deep breaths to calm myself down. Eventually, it worked.

He must have noticed the change because without a warning, he rushed at me. Daggers poised, he sprinted the distance between us in a flash. He brought the weapons up, ready to skewer me with them.

A taser round slammed into his torso, interfering with his course of action.

Without bothering to check whether he was out or not, I engulfed the surroundings with smoke. I slid away to the fringe of the smoke cloud and crouched behind what I assumed was a car. With a click of a button, thermal vision returned and I was able to see again.

As I had predicted, the taser round was not enough to take it out. He pushed himself from the ground and looked around to see his world in smog. He was clearly unable to perceive me through the smoke, if his glancing around was any indication. However, instead of searching around like I expected him to, he just grabbed something from his chest and tossed it carelessly onto the ground.

Grenade! I tucked my head behind my cover. The ensuing explosion was muffled by my earpiece. The car I was hiding behind absorbed the blast. The grenade had done me no damage. It did, however, remove all smoke from the area.

'Found you,' My voice informed me.

I backpedaled away from the source of my voice but a line of pain flared on my thigh as I escaped. I ignored the injury, my attention kept by the psychotic assaulter braced to attack. He twirled his dagger and kept pace with my retreat.

Looked like I wasn't going to outrun this one. Time to see if Beacon training was worth something.

I holstered my Fiasco and took out a pair of knives. Before he fully registered the change, I reversed hard and killed the distance between us. He did not respond immediately, taken by surprise. The split second advantage allowed me to leave a gash across his arm. I tossed the knife in my other hand at his foot but at this point he was ready to evade my throw. The knife embedded harmlessly into the ground.

He slammed me with his shoulder to pry me away. As I staggered back, he dropped and lashed out a leg sweep. I hopped over the foot while tossing my remaining knife in his direction. He parried the blade midair without breaking stride and slashed at me with his own. Bringing up my forearms, I trapped the dagger between my vambraces. Then I grabbed his wrist and twisted behind him.

He refused to be caught, however. Somersaulting in the air, he uncoiled his arm. As he liberated his hand, the knife in his other hand went for my face and almost hit its target. I kicked at his abdomen and pushed myself away. As I fell back, I drew a fan of knives and tossed them at his general direction. Upon contact with the ground, the stun pellets in my knives detonated in unison.

My vision darkened automatically to compensate for the flashes of light. My foe had no such protection and started fumbling slightly due to the vision impairment. Seizing my chance, I chucked a shockwave grenade at him, hoping to blast him senseless. It was one of the harder-hitting grenades but I wanted to end the battle now.

To my astonishment, even in his disabled condition he was able to snatch the explosive and resend it my way. The astonishment soon died when I realised what this turn of even signified. Before I could vocalized my dismay, the blast knocked me away quite a distance, through multiple panes of glass and out onto the streets on the other side of the building.

My world spun and refused to focus. There were various murmurs all around, letting me know that I was in the busier part of the city. I tried to stand and discovered that standing up was a concept possible only if you could distinguish between up and down.

'Holy crap, did he just fly through a building?' This girl's voice was significantly louder than the others – meaning she was closer – and strangely familiar.

'Don't go near him! He gives off a bad vibe.' The answering girl's voice was even more familiar but in my disoriented state, I could not attach a face to neither of the voices.

'Oh relax, Weiss. He's half dead already. What could he possibly do?' Weiss! As if hit by a bolt of lightning, my brain jump-started. With my mind rapidly clearing, I recognized the first girl as...

'Yang. He is wearing a mask. It's clear he's up to no good. Anyway, we should be looking for Blake, not wasting time on this hooligan.' The wariness in Weiss's voice was plain.

I tried to stand again and achieved the task painstakingly. At my movement, I heard Ember Celica being cocked. 'Yang, wait! It's me!' I cried desperately. The last thing I needed was some tender loving care from her gauntlets.

'He knows my name,' the brawler muttered, 'I don't like the fact that he knows my name,' her expression was getting more serious. Weiss drew her Myrtenaster as well. A wave of panic flickered. Why were they being so hostile? Did they not recognize me?

Oh, for fuck's sake. I pressed the transparency button on my vambrace. My visor cleared accordingly, showing my face to the two huntresses. 'It's me, Balthazar.'

Yang lowered her weapons upon seeing my face; Weiss didn't. Instead she asked the blond, 'can I still run him through?'

'Weiss,' said Yang.

At the admonishment, the heiress rolled her eyes. 'A girl can hope, can't she?'

Usually, I would have returned the favor but currently there was a dagger-wielding psychopath at my heel. Time enough for witty retorts later. 'Look, girls. I need a favor. I need to help Lestia from a tight spot but there's a crazy man with penchant for stabbing chasing after me. I need you to stall him.' The two girls exchanged glances.

'Maybe he hit his head harder than he looks,' Yang whispered.

Weiss agreed, 'no kidding. If he thinks Lestia needs help from him, I think it's quite serious.'

I sighed exasperatedly. 'Girls, I'm serious.' I bit my lips out of frustration.

Suddenly, a look of concern surfaced on the heiress's expression. She approached me and stared at my face. 'Balthazar. You're bleeding.' From the way she gazed, it must have looked severe.

Sadly, seeking medical treatment was a luxury I could not afford at the moment. I blacked out the visor so that the girl in white could not see the wound anymore. I grabbed her by the wrists and spoke, 'Weiss. Listen. Lestia needs my help and to get to her, I need yours. Do you understand?' I might have been a bit too fierce with my request because there was nervousness in her eyes.

Yang pried my fingers from her friend. 'We'll help. Who are we fighting?'

Before I could describe my opponent, my voice came from inside the ransacked building. 'Oh Breaker. Why do you run, Breaker? Don't we have unfinished business?'

Both girls looked as perturbed as I felt. 'That sounded just like...' Yang began.

'Yes. The bastard mimics voices.'

'Great. An eerie creeplord that copies voices; just the type of opponents I like to get my fists on.' Yang cracked her knuckles. 'Come on, Weiss. I guess we could take a short break.'

The girl in white, who seemed to be in a reverie, shook her head at her blond friend's words. 'Ah... al...alright. Coming.'

Yang turned to me. 'You go ahead, Balthazar. We got this.'

I bade them good luck and left.

-x-x-x-x-

**A/N: I'm not even surprised at how there's still one more chpt for this arc. I seriously wonder why I believed it was possible to wrap this arc up in two chpts. I'm so bad with arc splitting.**

**So this chpt was just a long series of events, with a bit more left for the next chpt to cover. After that, it's season 2 time, ladies and gentlemen. Oh glorious plot progression, honor be to thy name.**

**While this chpt came out relatively fast, I rly doubt the next one will experience such miracle. Stuff happening in life and all. No promises, neither to be slow or fast. Let's see how it goes.**

**Before I end this chpt, I have a question for all of you. Once this arc ends, there is going to be an end-of-the-semester duel in Melanis's class. I want to create some sparks with this one, meaning it's going to be btw the better fighters.**

**Here's the roster **

**Alex vs Pyrrha**

**Circe vs Weiss**

**Melanis vs Yang**

**I would like your opinions on which fight do you want to see. Other combinations of match up is also fine (I have been told Melanis should fight against both Yang and Alex together. If you feel this lineup is better, you're free to state so as well.) I want to see which match piques the most interest and will probably write the one most favored.**

**That's abt it for now.**

**Do leave a comment on how this chpt was like. Was it too long, too short, too dry, too coarse. I want to hear.**


	18. Chapter 18: Three's a Company: part 3

****DISCLAIMER: Those that ought to belong to others shall belong to their respective owners. Those that ought to belong to me, if any, shall belong to me.** **

**A/N: The irony of not posting for two months after the preceding chpt being posted within two weeks after its predecessor is not lost on me. As well as the necessity for an apology. This chpt had way more contents that I had originally credited. **

**Well, the guilty has no right to excuse himself. Do enjoy.**

-x-x-x-x-

Three's a Company: part 3

Come on, Lestia. Pick it up. Come on.

The scroll beeped in vain, crushing my hopes to powder. I returned my scroll into the pocket with a bit more force than necessary. Why did I think Fortune was smiling upon me today? On hindsight, I should have realised that she was just luring me into a false sense of security so she could abandon me when I would need her the most.

Well, this was the last time I relied on her. I let my "borrowed" scooter drop to the ground, its existence already wiped from my mind. I had not been tainted by Beacon to such a degree that I felt guilt for stealing. Who knows? Maybe the guy who finds it later might deliver it to the nearest lost-and-found.

A quick glance around told me something quite unnerving; the streets of Westland Road were as empty as a ghost town. There was literally nobody in sight.

I mean, I've seen some deserted streets, but this was ridiculous. There was not a soul around, not even one of those street kids who made a living by selling up-to-date affairs to the information brokers – and trust me, there are a lot of those. Something was keeping people away.

Well, if there was such a thing, it made sense to not announce my presence by shouting for Lestia. Unfortunately, that culminated to only option. With her scroll out of order and option of shouting for her denied, it was drudgery time monsieur Venarius.

I darted from shadow to shadow, silently but methodically combing through each building in the area. The search was as fruitless as it was tiring. It was exactly like looking for the metaphorical needle in the metaphorical haystack, except you needed to exert considerable amount of stamina because the damn haystack was over several blocks of buildings. The unproductive search grated at my patience.

As soon as I got out of this mess, I was going to plant a tracking device on all my teammates' scrolls.

However, for me to illegally bug my team members' equipment, first I needed to survive this ordeal.

It was at this moment of idiotic grumbling and complaining that a hand grabbed me from behind, covering my mouth. My instinctive reflex was to struggle free but whoever that held me was rigid in his lock. Knowing pure strength was not the way to go, I rammed my hand into a pocket and rummaged for my taser ring. As soon as it was on, I pressed it as hard as I could against the enemy's skin.

'Aaaaghh!' Both of us screamed as the electrical current flowed through us. My legs buckled as they lost strength. My grabber collapsed, unable to withstand my deadweight. Together, we fell in a heap.

Once again, it was Lestia who got up first. 'I'm gonna break that bloody thing.'

'Maybe next time, you'll give me a warning instead of jumping on top of me.' I gathered my feet and took a look at my partner.

Damn, she was a mess. Dirt and dust covered her in heaps. Her outfit had tears in several spots, some of them even dabbed in blood. She also seemed to be favoring her right leg more. All in all, she was not the picture of health.

'How are you holding up?' I asked her, checking the visible injuries. I wasn't a paramedic but I knew enough about on-site treatment after years of field experience. Her wounds looked like they hurt but they weren't anything too disabling.

Lestia waved me off, indicating she was functional. 'Better than that bitch will be once I get my Bladed Leaf on her,' she snarled in reply.

'The bitch?' I evoked our previous conversation. 'You mean the girl in grey clothes? The one with noisy totems that made you tear our your radio?'

She nodded.

'Still can't get her?'

Her nod was curter this time. 'I will make her cry.'

Atta girl. 'Can't stop you from that, can I? Well, I'm here to make your dreams real. Tell me everything you can about them.'

She did, detailing to me all she knew about the harpoon wielder and the totem planter. I listened attentively, asking clarification on some factors but mostly just listening. The wheels in my head just ticked and clicked, gauging every line of attack that floated to my head. They dismissed the foolish, idealistic ones and held onto the more feasible of the bunch. By the time I was done, a plan of sorts had been formed.

It was time for a counterattack.

-x-x-x-x-

Lestia strolled along the boulevard of Westland Road, a light skip to her steps. She even whistled, for Remnant's sake.

'Careful, Lestia. You're gonna look mighty suspicious if you're waltzing around so happily,' I spoke into my scroll, having hooked it up to her radio just for the sake of communication.

_'In all honesty, Balty, I can't give a whit of shit about what they think of me,'_ replied Lestia, still dancing down the road.

Over on the other side of the road was an assemblage of totems of veritable diversity. Among those mechanical emblems was a women dressed in clothes of grey. She waved delightedly at my huntress friend, taunting at her to approach. The huntress, in return, flipped the girl off without any alteration to the pace she walked. She kept the leisurely saunter all the way to the fringe of one totem.

Then all of a sudden, she collapsed to the ground, clutching her ears.

That was my cue; I pressed the control on my vambrace. Immediately, the visor on Lestia's head darkened as the equipment came online. She was now shelterd from any visual and auditory influences, including those produced from the grey woman's totems. The totems were now no more than mere decorations along the road.

Bladed Leaf unfolded with glee.

She dived at the woman with righteous fury, apparently not at all concerned about keeping her alive. Her opponent was taken aback for a moment as her attacks were rendered useless before necessity demanded she brandished her own melee weapon. It was a maul, a weapon that felt unsuitable for her as she did not look like a heavy-hitter sort of fighter.

That was until the woman slammed down her bell. Yes, a bell. Lestia's opponent's maul was essentially a stick with a bell for its head. Considering how easily I heard the reverberation from there, it had to be extremely disorienting to those nearby. That girl wielded sound as her weapon, knocking people senseless with overwhelming blasts of noise.

Fortunately, that meant she was going to be no match against Lestia in a visor. The huntress was immune to the noise. It did not matter to the visor whether the auditory assault was subtle or blatantly loud. Anything invasive was filtered to a safer range.

With that advantage stripped, the opponent was struggling to keep the angry green-clad female from tearing her apart. Lestia easily sidestepped the weightier maul and constantly delved past her enemy's defences. The girl in grey tried to fend off my partner but it was apparent she did not possess the combat skill to match the huntress.

Just when her defeat seemed imminent, a harpoon dropped from the sky, missed Lestia by inches and granted her the split second she needed to escape a particularly nasty looking blow. _'What the hell?' _Lestia blurted out in surprise at the projectile. She did not have much time to complain before more harpoons dropped towards my partner, forcing her to weave away to avoid being impaled. _'Balty! Get rid of him!' _she called out.

Time to earn my paycheck – not that I was being paid. Now that the ranged fighter had shown himself, it was my job to shut him down. Well, I say shut him down, but in reality, the best I could probably manage was distract the harpooner. Oh well, that was all Lestia was going to need to take care of her opponent anyway. Once her business here was dealt with, she would join me and overwhelm the harpooner together.

The harpoons came in a steady flow, keeping my friend from destroying her foe. I kept my eyes skyward and took note of the harpoons' trajectory. With the data, I extrapolated their point of origin. With a destination figured out, I swiftly made my way.

The chain of harpoons led me to a deserted construction site. The bare steel beams made the structure look precarious, even though those were the what kept the building standing in the first place. It was not the tallest building I saw in my life but standing in the middle of relatively low leveled buildings of Vale, it seemed higher than its reality.

Well, I certainly wasn't here to appreciate its aesthetics. The faster I got on with my part, the faster I could leave. I sneaked over the concrete floors, taking care not to slap out a sound and give myself away. The last thing I wanted was a ranged opponent who saw me first.

Logic dictated that a long range spear thrower would be at the highest floor so as to maximize his available reach. Sadly, logic is predictable and being predictable gets people killed. Therefore, people tended to avoid being purely logical in a fight.

My guess was that he was on the third highest floor. Top floor was right out; second highest floor was the next most logical which meant it was fifty-fifty chance he was there, depending on how paranoid the harpooner was. Either way, I had to climb up and had to be careful about not making noise the whole time. I fondly missed my visor, with its thermal vision, as I cautiously ascended floor by floor.

He was not at the third highest floor. I released a breath of relief at the delayed combat.

Quite convinced that he was the floor above me, I thought about my course of action upon my inevitable contact. I had the advantage of surprise and I really wanted to use it wisely, since it was likely my only advantage. Do I ask question later and open fire immediately upon sighting? That sounded a bit brutal though; something Lestia would have done. Maybe I can just hold him at gunpoint, demanding him to surrender? No, that was just being naive. If this opponent anything like the psycho daggerman I met on my way to here, something so docile as simply requesting his surrender was the quickest way to shameful defeat.

I needed something that was balanced between force and finesse. Usually that meant something like shrieker-nades or smoke bombs. The only problem was that my visor was currently in the hands of my partner. I was just as vulnerable to my non-lethal grenades as anyone else.

Maybe I should just open fire first. Trying to strike a balance seems like an unnecessary brainstorming. With the dilemma settled, I instead brainstormed on exactly how hard I should open fire.

Lestia was such a bad influence.

-x-x-x-x-

There are some days you think you have them planned to perfection and they proceed to slap you so hard in your smug face that you proceed to curse whichever entity you believe watches over you.

As I sneaked upstairs and rounded a corner, my target came into view. He was a bulky man, having a musculature of a man who spent a lot of time doing hard work. The harpoon he was about to toss was hefted onto a staff-like device. Too my surprise, I actually recognized the device; Melanis had shown it in class before. It was an atlatl; an ancient tool that augmented a spear thrower's range. Obviously this one was much more modern but its basic purpose remained the same.

Reveling in the thought that I would have an element of surprise on my opponent for once, I reared my arm back to toss the foam grenade. It worked on the henchmen before so I figured I may as well try it on this guy. Before the grenade even left my hand, however, the harpooner swung about to me and launched his javelin with his atlatl in one fluid motion.

Well, so much for element of surprise.

Only my quick reflexes saved me from the fate of being impaled. Meanwhile, my grenade left my hand, clinked towards my assailant in a half-hearted manner and detonated. The area between us soon became an area of cushiony substance, absorbing the second harpoon in its tracks and buying me time to chuck a smoke grenade in reflex.

Unfortunately, reflex had not accounted for the fact that I was without my thermal vision and just as blind in the smoke as the other guy.

Ah well, this was not the first time I was fighting for my life blind in my smoke. Drawing my knives, I flitted to where I estimated my enemy was. He was a much louder man than I was, noisily stamping around in confusion and muttering a handful of curses every now and then.

The sound telegraphed his location rather nicely. I sent a flurry of knives slicing through the distance between us. They impacted against something with a meaty sound. A grunt of pain came from his end, along with a clattering sound of something dropping. Accompanying these noises, a harpoon soared to the spot I had been standing just a second ago.

The adrenaline was fueling my brain to perform near past its capacity. There was only one thing that could have fallen to the floor: his spear thrower, the atlatl. It must be heavily modified, if it allowed him to toss his harpoons all the way to where Lestia was. Well, modification meant a lot of technology, and a lot of technology meant a room for a malfunction or two. If I could destroy it, Lestia was guaranteed to win in her fight.

Removing a ranged fighter's weapon from the equation was a good step to take, anyway. So against standard operating protocol, I actually brought myself closer to the harpooner. I still could not see him but hearing him was another matter. The cursing had gotten more lively and the shuffling around was louder. He had clearly not learned from his experience. As tempting as it was to reinforce the previous lesson, my current objective was to find the atlatl.

At least, I was hoping it was his atlatl he dropped, not something irrelevant like a water bottle. I combed the ground where I heard the weapon drop all the while keeping the ear out for possible noise of approaching danger. While the smoke was nice keeping me hidden from my angry opponent, it did little to facilitate the searching process.

Seeing no better way to do it, I got down on all fours and combed the floor. Just keep my mind on the fact finding the atlatl was paramount to my victory. Don't think about how ridiculous I would look like now. It's not like pride was something I really cared about, is it? I was a street kid once, pride had no hold over me. Still, there was a part of me that was extremely appreciative of the smoke that kept me from view.

As my head mused, my hands worked. Eventually, I managed to grab hold of something in shape of a staff. Aha. In my hand lied the equipment of mass range augmentation. Taking a closer look, I observed that the spear thrower definitely mechanically advanced. All the better for me then. For the first time in awhile, I let malfunction loose.

Using malfunction is never anything flashy. There are no fires of destruction, no flashes of light to signify the target's breakdown. In fact, I do not even feel any different than usual. The only thing I experience as I rendered a piece of machinery unusable was the firm conviction that in some way possible the thing I was holding was screwed.

It was the same conviction I now experienced as I held the atlatl. There was no way this thing going to be more than the sum of its component pieces now. In fact, the joints that held it together probably wasn't even properly attached at this point. Grinning at the thought that my ranged opponent was now cut in range, I let go of the weapon.

Now that I had disarmed my good buddy in the smoke, it was time to pay him a visit. Usually I would have pulled away. The fact that I was the guy with the gun, so to speak, was making me feel hell a lot better about my chances. It was getting to my head.

The smoke was thinning out now, making it easier to breathe – I dearly missed my respirator – but also easier to see. I chased the stray thoughts away from my head – such as how hungry I was – and refocused. He was still bulkier than me; last thing I wanted was to get jumped on.

I didn't know what sacrifice that guy made to Fortune but the moment I laid my eyes on him, he managed to spot me back. Stealth just simply did not seem to work. The weapon sabotage will have to do. I opened fire without preamble. Getting the message, he ducked behind the palisade.

'Wowee, lad. We hadn't e'en exchanged pleasantries an' yer shootin' at me alrdy?' the bloke yelled out from behind the wall.

'Exchanging pleasantries is something I reserve for my friends,' I replied, unloading couple more shots to emphasize on the point. To flush him out, I tossed a grenade.

'Ha! Gotta remember that 'un.' He rolled out of the wall, harpoon in hand. Ignoring the bullets I was sending his way, he hefted the javelin and tossed. I evaded easily, the spear nowhere near as fast the previous throws. Nice.

All behaviors so far indicated he was unfazed by the bullets so I thought I would try something more exciting. I outfitted the throwing knives with a few bomb pellets.

First one I tossed spattered the area with streaks of flame. Once more, the opponent was forced to evict his hidey-hole to another nearby.

Following up the napalm pellet was the frost pellet. The waves of frost plunged the surroundings violently where the knife landed. The walls not initially destroyed by fire cracked and crumbled due to the rapid thermal transition. With most of his shelters gone, the harpooner growled and poised his weapon, counterattack in his mind.

What he did not realise was that I had tossed the knife bearing concussive pellet already. The blast not only disoriented the fellow – if by disoriented, I meant blasted the guy off his feet – but pattered him with frost-hardened debris. His aura must have faltered with the last attack because he had a few wounds from the ice fragments.

The man himself paid no heeds to injuries getting up energetically. 'That were some good lobs.' There was a manic grin on his face. 'But yer luck's at the end now that this lovely's back'n my hands.' With flourish, he brandished his atlatl.

Suppressing the smirk that threatened to break out, I feigned passable horror at this new development. He placed a harpoon on the thrower, drew it back and hurled it with all his might.

The bloody contraption fell to pieces right in his hand, the harpoon clattering harmlessly to the ground.

The slack-jawed expression was simply a work of art. We stood there for a minute or two, him staring at his weapon with utter disbelief while I giggled at the scene.

'Rosaline! Why! Nooooooo!' He wailed dramatically. He was tearing up now, rummaging through the remains of his weapon attempting to piece them back together to no avail. As I witnessed his dismay, his actions reminded me of Ruby and her extreme love towards her weapon.

It was rather distressing, actually.

I just stood there in silence, giggles long since dead, not knowing what to say and hoping he did not figure out that I was the one who had destroyed his precious Rosaline. It wasn't that I regretted ruining his weapon but that did not mean I had to take such delight in his misery.

He went on for a couple minutes longer before composing himself. He rested Rosaline the atlatl on the ground gently and mumbled softly, probably a farewell. Rubbing his eyes, he turned to me. I flinched, expecting him to enact terrible acts of vengeance for what I had done to her – ahem, I mean – it. Instead of my expectations, he said, 'yer alright, lad. Waiting on me to say ma goodbyes.' He nodded in thanks.

No way I was going to confess to being the reason the goodbyes were necessary. 'You look like you're having it hard. Maybe we should call it a day and go home?'

He barked out a laughter. 'Yer a funny one, ain't ya? Naw, boy. My paymaster ain't payin' me to chitchat and mix words with the targets. So we're gonna be settling this no matter wha', even without ma beloved Rosaline.'

Of course it couldn't be easy. 'If you say so. I'm really okay if we called off the whole fighting thing. You know, since you just lost your weapon and all.'

'Haha! Ya think ya can one up me jus' cuz ya has a weapon an' I don', is it? Well, sorry to disappoint, laddie, but I'm the hardiest nail of our lot! Ya ain't gonna find me a breeze, ya hear me?' he retorted.

Upon his words my lifted spirits plummeted once more, much like the winged Icarus once did. I could not believe that of all the ranged opponents I could have landed myself with, I had to have the misfortune of getting the one who happened to be resilient. He was a freaking ranged tank! Fortune knows just the sort of weird I need in my life to keep it bloody agitating.

After the bout of self-pity induced monologue, I was about done consigning myself to the fate when my scroll began to ring. Its exceedingly childishly cheerful tone – handpicked by my partner three weeks prior – was so out of sync with the devastated construction site we were in that the two of us stared at the device for a moment. The glance at the collar ID told me it was from Lestia. I stole a peek at the harpooner, the only reason that stopped me from answering her call.

'Go take it. I can wait,' he offered generously. Knowing when to accept generosity offered, I nodded my thanks and answered the call.

'Balty?' Lestia's voice was haggard and rushed. Something was wrong.

'Lestia, what's wrong?'

'Balty, I need your help. The girl got a reinforcement and he's not the useless kind. Nothing I try has an effect on him. I... Ahhh!'

'Lestia?' Grips of panic twirled around me as each second passed without her reply.

When she finally spoke, I released a sigh of relief. 'Help me,' was all she uttered before the line went dead, and killing my sigh of relief with it.

'You done, lad?' the harpooner inquired once I hung up. He must have seen the distraught expression on my face because he followed up with, 'blasted waters, ya look like ya heard yer ship burned down. Ya okay?'

His question barely registered because only one thought echoed around my mind at the present: I needed to get to Lestia. 'I need to go,' I announced.

'What? I thought I went over this; I'm still tasked to bring ya. Ya really don't have a choice in the matter.' Hmm. He plans to obstruct me. Very well.

I will just have to remove him.

I gave him a hard look. 'I don't think you understand, mister. I need to go.' I pressed into a button on my vambrace.

At once, all the plastic explosives I had planted on the floor below us beforehand detonated. The floor began to collapse, the supporting pillars having been shattered beyond use. Debris that used to be the ceiling started to pelt on me. Having accounted for such eventuality, I pulled out a barrier grenade.

Barrier grenades would be more accurately termed the bubble-wrap-of-nothing-painful-getting-through grenade. Upon detonation, instead of a spectacular explosion of some sort, the grenade produced a spherical energy based shield around itself, large enough to encompass about three to four people. The science behind the grenade's function was beyond me, despite Anderson – my weapons supplier and part-time friend – trying to enlighten me on the subject. Eventually he had given up, but in between the throngs of gibberish he had tried to imprint me, I managed to garner that the computer managing the energy field can discern harmful levels of energy and divert it to less harmful levels. A bullet's kinetic energy, a jet of flame's thermal energy and a lightning bolt's electrical energy were some of the things the shield protected those within from.

I was really hoping any large debris falling from overhead was included in the list.

My attention to the slabs of concrete above me kept it away from the ground below me. As I saw first of the larger chunks of ceiling to drop, so did I, the floor giving away right under my feet. My landing was unhindered by the shield, letting me store the information for future reference that barrier shield did not oppose gravity.

Ugh. My back throbbed from its reunion with the floor. The chunks of rocks dug into the most uncomfortable of areas, in the manner most discomfiting. Gingerly I pushed myself up, roughly assessing my motor functions as I did so. Nothing was broken, or too broken in any case. Looks like learning to awaken my aura was payin...

**Crack.**

That was from the floor I was standing on.

I glanced down and to my chagrin, there were several spiderwebs of cracks on the floor I was standing on. The spiderwebs grew in size, as if being spun by an army of several spiders. It seemed that I had overestimated the structural integrity of this building. Instead of collapsing just one floor, it looked like I was going to collapse the whole building.

As arrogant as it might come off, the only thought I had as the building began to crumple and I lost consciousness was; I don't have time for this.

Well, that and; I hope Lestia is okay.

-x-x-x-x-

When I came to, the first thing I noticed was that I was not buried alive under tons of debris.

Actually, that was the second thing I noticed. The first thing was that my body ached everywhere. The slick and iron-scented liquid I could feel at the tip of my fingers told me there were at least some blood on me, and instinct informed me those blood were mine.

The third thing I noticed was that wherever I was in, it was shaking. Nothing too violent, bless Fortune for that small mercy, but just a soft hum to let me know it was a vehicle. I tried to get up but my body would not listen. It wouldn't even open the eyes.

The fourth thing I noticed were voices. At first, I could not focus to make up the words I was hearing but after a minute or two, my faculties began to process the noises and converted them to meanings.

'He's stabilized, so hand Fei over.' The voice was deep and unfamiliar. It was certainly not the friendly sort, the tone threatening.

'Which part of "till I meet your benefactor" do you not comprehend, you imbecile? I return this waitress once we reach wherever you are taking us safely, not before.' That was definitely Harmony, although her tone indicated nothing of her namesake at the moment.

'Watch your tone, bitch. Nobody speaks to Garm like that.' This one was a girl and from the sound of it, not much older than me. I did not recognize the voice though.

Harmony was not the sort who cared for such threats. 'Well then too bad, cupcakes. Cos I don't think my diction's going to change.'

Harmony's voice spoke again. 'Isn't that sad, Kiffa? She's going to continue to insult Garm. Maybe you should write about it in your diary.'

'Shut the fuck up, Khan.'

'Now don't ya be embarrassing ourselves in front o' them, ya two. Ya can have yer tiff later.' Now here was a voice I recognized. It was the harpooner from the building. Looked like he didn't bite the dust when the building was destroyed. That was nice to know.

'You shut up too, Burk. I didn't ask for your opinion.' The girl spoke again.

'Don't you dare use my voice, you piece of shit!' Scratch that. The previous one must have been the voice mimicking assassin I faced earlier. I guessed this girl must be the grey-clothed girl Lestia had been facing off.

'Is Balty alright? If he's okay, why isn't he waking up?' Here was another voice I recognized. It looked like Lestia was okay as well. The knowledge brought me relief, letting tension leave my body. Unfortunately, in its relaxed state it was much more perceptive to pain, making me groan.

That caught the attention of everyone inside.

'Breaker!' 'Balty!' My two companions exclaimed.

I managed to utter, 'in the flesh... mostly.' I tried to open my eyes again and with great difficulty, managed to succeed. I found myself in a van. Lesita was beside me. The people who had been chasing us, the harpooner, the assassin and the girl-in-grey were on the farther end. There was another man with them. He was a giant of a man, and everything about him screamed danger and business. His level gaze pierced into mine and it took tremendous amount of will to not look away. After a few seconds of assessing, he broke the eye contact. Ha! Take that.

With that small triumph under my belt, I searched around for Harmony, who I have not seen yet. I turned to the last corner of the van I haven't looked yet and found her there.

She was there, alright, along with another girl in her arms, held at dagger point.

That's my Harmony, never failing to surprise. 'Uhmm. Harmony? Who is that? And why is her neck being introduced to your knife?' I asked.

In response, Harmony twirled the said knife in her hand, making me cringe and drawing gasps from others. The girl flinched involuntarily. Harmony simply laughed. 'Don't move dear, you might hurt yourself.' She then proceeded to answer my question, 'this girl is the reason why they were able to track us since we left the Marlissa's Food Heaven. She was their tail.'

Now that I looked at her, a spark of recognition lit. I didn't realise who she was at first, because she was dressed differently, but this was the serving girl who I almost skewered with my knife back in the Food Heaven. Not only was the waitress uniform gone but her hair was neatly donned. She was still as cute as before, just different sort of cute.

And now that it was revealed she's with the enemies I should vanquish such thoughts. Focus, brain, focus.

Unaware of my intentions, the previously-disguised-as-a-waitress girl called to me, 'uhm, hi, mushroom sauce, bones and onions guy?' Of course that's what she would remember about me. 'Could you please get your friend to retract her knife? I don't really do well with knives.' No kidding, considering I almost stabbed you with a knife just now. 'I promise not to run,' she promised.

Harmony was glaring at me to not comply. I could see the logic behind it. From what I could gather since waking up, we were obviously being taken somewhere by these assailants. Holding onto a hostage my ex-partner managed to procure – so that's what she was doing when she said she was too busy – was the smart play.

But it's hard to do the smart play when the girl looked at me so earnestly to get the knife away from her damn throat. 'Harmony, is the knife really necessary? You can always just shoot her.'

The thief just rolled her eyes. Still, she did let go of the girl though. 'You are such a pushover,' she muttered in disapproval as she pulled out her crossbow.

The girl took a glance at the four assailants on the other end of the van before looking at Harmony's bow. Showing display of intellect, she meekly chose to sit by the marketwoman's side. She did mouth a soft "thank you" at my direction.

I pretended to not notice it.

Instead, I asked out loud, 'so where are we bound?' I looked at the four people and wracked my brain, trying to piece together their names. The assassin with voices was Khan. The harpooner was Burk. The girl in the most grey-centric clothes I have ever seen was Kiffa and the towering colossus of a man was Garm. I strained to recall the waitress/tail girl and succeeded recalling Garm asking for a girl named Fei's release.

It was Garm who replied, confirming my suspicion that he was the man in charge of this group. 'You're about to meet my employer.' He did not offer any more than that. He was certainly not the conversational sort.

'Does this employer have a name?' Lestia asked.

'He does but it's his to give,' rebutted Garm. A beep came to his phone. He took a brief glance before turning back to me. 'If you are really curious, you can ask him yourself because we're here.'

As if on cue, the vehicle came to a stop.

-x-x-x-x-

The room we entered was dark, illuminated barely by computer monitors. No conventional light sources, such as light bulbs, were present. A melody from the speakers reverberated around the room, filling the void left by lack of light. The music, if it could be described as such, was entirely composed of bells ringing – the sort you hear in churches – without any other instruments. The ringing was jaw-grinding without the visor to lessen its impact. I ruefully shot a glance at Lestia, wondering whether I could ask for it back.

'Well, at least the evil mastermind keeps a certain theme going,' Lestia whispered to me, barely audibly, as she looked around.

'I appreciate you titling me a mastermind, Miss Glass. Although, I can't say the same about being termed evil.' From the dimness of the office, a voice replied to the huntress. Lightly spoken and yet possessing no doubt his words would be adhered to, it was a leader's voice, or at least a man used to giving commands.

The two of us were startled into silence at the fact that he caught our conversation. We had been talking really, really softly. There was no way he could have overheard us, over all these bells dinging. I scanned the surroundings for any signs of listening devices, although it did not make sense to me. Why would anyone bug his own office?

A dry chuckle came from the centre of the dim office. 'Now, now. Do not be alarmed. You were not discussing anything sensational.' A silhouette of a man by the desk motioned with his hand. The screens brightened in response, letting us see the man who had been pulling the strings.

The man wore a suit that spelled business in no uncertain terms. His demeanor, however, was jarringly placid. His face was entirely vacant of meaningful emotional display, just like my friends in high stake poker games. The only trace of life on his face was in his eyes; they glinted with penetrating intelligence.

'So you're the one who sent all those thugs. I really enjoyed the event. Anyway, let me put this bluntly; who would you be?' asked Harmony, no trace of hostility in her voice. She was a better diplomat than I was.

The man spoke with a lilt in his words, clearing amused. 'I hope you are not expecting names, Miss Harmony. You know how the market operates.'

I did. Harmony did. Lestia didn't. 'Screw you, weirdo. You sent a bunch of assassins after us and ruined our lunch in Marlissa's Food Heaven. I don't know where you learned to make friends but you suck at it.'

'Miss Glass, please. Assassins? Against Miss Harmony? Preposterous. However, I do regret interrupting your meal as much as the next guy. Be assured you'll be compensated. For the next five visits to the Food Heaven, simply mention the name John Laien and you and your company's food will be paid for. Please be understanding as this was the only opportunity in the foreseeable future I had of meeting both Mr Breaker and Miss Harmony together.'

Lestia fell silent for a moment before muttering, 'I take it back. You do know how to make friends.'

'Traitor,' I mumbled.

'I don't see you offering me five free meals,' she countered.

Harmony cut us off before we could embarrass ourselves further. 'John Laien, huh? Any chance that's the name you were born with?'

'Sorry to disappoint, Miss Harmony.'

I had enough of games. 'So what do we call you?'

A smirk, the first physical expression of his, came upon his face. 'You can call me the Broker.' Now it was my turn to fall silent. I exchanged a look with Harmony.

His sentence may have been simple but the implication behind it was anything but.

Everyone who was an anyone in the undermarket has at least heard of the name Broker. Known as the single most networked individual in Vale, it was rumored that if there was something going on and you direly needed to know more about it no matter the cost, you just had to contact Broker. He was a prominent figure in the political, corporate and criminal world and someone nobody wanted to receive a direct attention from.

Which pretty much summed up how I was feeling at the moment. 'You are kidding,' I muttered.

'Oh? Perhaps a little proof is in order?'

'A proof will be nice.'

He clicked his fingers. As one, the henchmen left the room. He didn't seem fazed being alone with three people his people had attacked this afternoon. 'Information isn't free and they get paid enough to go without such bonus,' he stated as a manner of explanation.

'Let's start with your partner, Lestia Glass. Resident of Crystaldam. Family of four with two parents and an older brother. At least until the ursa rampage five years back. Both parents killed in action. Barely stayed alive thanks to a Matchbox employee present on the scene. Brother currently house-bound due to severe PTSD at doctor's recommendations. Better facility is required for his treatment but loss of parents devastated her family's financial capacity. Fortunately, Pygmalion Foundation is currently developing new method of trauma related treatment therapy. It is possible that he can seek free, if somewhat experimental, medical care from there.'

The huntress's eyes widened at the wealth of information offered to her. Her expression carried both that of worry and hope. She must be thinking of her brother. 'Who can I talk to regarding the treatment?' she asked.

'I believe Foundation's Vale headquarter can provide you with more information,' he answered.

Lestia asked another question. 'Who is the Matchbox employee that saved me? What's his name. In fact, what kind of company is a Matchbox?'

This time, Broker tutted in response, as if admonishing a child's mistake. 'Miss Glass. I regret to inform you that information is my trade. The few snippets I have already offered is a form of apology for this afternoon but if you wish to lay your hands on more, we will have to come to an agreement of sorts.'

I could tell Lestia was going to go for it and clenched her hand. She turned to look at me, bewildered at the sudden grab. I shot her a look that deterred her intention. She paused but eventually nodded her understanding.

Broker certainly did not miss our exchange; he moved on to Harmony. 'Let's speak of you, Miss Harmony. One of the best espionage experts in Vale, has a front in almost every major corporation in the city. One of your greatest feat is the assassination of Ilax Gardener, which happens to also be your last assassination job. You removed yourself from your organisation after the incident, came to Vale and carved out a spot for yourself as you are today. Took in Breaker when he was thirteen and pulled in heists together since then.'

Lestia interrupted, 'Wait. Did you say thirteen?' The question was directed to me. She looked at me with open display of disbelief and irritation. 'Something you want to tell me, Balty?' She crossed her arms.

Aw crap. 'Something that can be told later. Now's really not the time. Please Lestia?'

She was not pleased. 'Don't think I'll be forgetting this.'

Broker cleared his throat to grab our attention. 'Continuing from where I left off, Miss Harmony is also...'

It was Harmony's turn to cut in. 'Actually, I think that's enough about me.'

He stopped. 'Perhaps now we can discuss business?'

'Hey wait a minute. You didn't say anything about Balty!' said Lestia.

Yeah, he didn't. 'Actually, I think he showed enough proof he's the Broker,' I declared.

Harmony turned out not to be my friend. 'I disagree, Breaker. He seems to know a lot but most of the stuff he said was hardly a secret, just obscure. I think listening about you should seal the deal.' The grin on her face was saying her intentions were much more personal.

Broker saw which way the wind was blowing. 'Alright. Onto Mr Breaker then.' He closed his eyes as if gathering thought on me. 'Breaker. Real name: Balthazar Venarius. Orphan. Parents unknown, presumed dead. First shown on records when he was six. Placed on Vale Police Department Street Protection list. Recruited by the Maker at age of seven. Involved mostly in heist missions. Evaded capture long enough to be promoted to leader of Heist Team 1.' Well, I was impressed. That was a lot about me even Harmony did not know about. Heedless of my awe, the man continued. 'Joined Harmony about after causing the death of Maker, causing his organisation's dissolution.'

At once, I was not awed anymore.

'How do you know that?' My voice was flint as the bitter memory resurfaced.

'I am the Broker,' he replied as a way of explanation.

His words, so simply said, made me wanted to shoot him. In fact, I just wanted to shoot something. His words brought out the old memories I had tried to forget so hard. I wanted to distract myself somehow, and being violent at something or someone was the most appealing form of distraction at the moment.

Fortunately – for me, since I doubt Broker was in any danger from someone of my calibre – Lestia grabbed my trembling hands and looked at me with concern. Her presence and proximity soothed my turmoil greatly.

'I think that's enough out of you, old man,' she hissed.

'As long as you are suitably convinced, I have no need to resume. Perhaps we can finally discuss business?'

Yes. Business was good. Business meant not talking about my own past. I waved at my partner to desist from confronting the man. 'Just tell us why you brought us here,' I implored, although I did my best to not sound so.

'Very well. I wished to speak to both of you, Breaker and Harmony. There is a project I am undertaking and you two will be a great asset to it.'

'I'm not sure how great your general affairs is but Breaker and I split up a few months back.'

'I am aware, Miss Harmony. Breaker's association with Beacon is more of a boon than a bane.'

I frowned at that. 'Spill it, Broker. What is it that you want. I tire of your games. Either you tell me with the next sentence or I walk out.'

'In summary, I need you to be my eyes and ears in both undermarket and Beacon.'

Harmony was not convinced. 'But you already have eyes and ears in both places.'

Broker didn't even bother to deny. 'True, but I want you to keep your eye out for a specific kind of leads. Tell me, both of you; have you heard of an organisation called Ccinedera?' The question left all three of us blank. I have never heard the name before.

'Cinder era?' Lestia asked.

'No, no. Ccinedera. Here, let me write it out for you.' He began to type on the keyboard. All around the room, the monitors displayed the word: CCINEDERA.

'Can't say I'm familiar with the term,' said Harmony.

'Me neither,' agreed Lestia. I nodded to indicate the same.

Broker gave a nod of his own as well. 'I am not surprised. This organisation is as secretive as it is thorough. Rather proficient at filtering out the spies in their ranks. Yet, despite their patience, they are certainly not reserved; they keep themselves well involved in many of the nefarious events worldwide.'

'Recently, they took interest in Vale. Since Vale is the only safe haven they do not have a foothold in, it makes sense they will try to rectify the error now. What this means for me is competition; and competition is best nipped in bud. I want them out of Vale and I want you to help me.'

'And why should we do that?' Lestia asked.

'For Mr Breaker and Miss Harmony, there is a personal stake on the matter. For one, the recently deceased Mr Bernand Decker was likely done in by Ccinedera's agents.'

'What?' Harmony exclaimed.

'Your mutual client, Lendex Inc. was a cat's paw of Ccinedera. They were eradicated to as a form of remuneration when your heist of Schnee Dust Company went sour. The organisation tried to trace you two as well but your precautions held against their scrutiny. I am afraid I cannot say the same for Mr Decker, however.'

'And you know this because...' the marketwoman asked. I worried for her. Now that I had a name for the presumed assassins, the a seed of desire for vengeance was sprouting. I can only imagine how much stronger the urge was for her.

'My agent was present when the compensation talk between Ccinedera and Schnee Company took place.'

That took my interest. 'Wait, are you saying Schnee Company works with this Ccinedera of yours?'

He waved his hand in dismissal. 'No. To work with Ccinedera is something terrorist organisations do. Schnee has not fallen that low, yet. All Schnee Dust Company wanted was to discover who had the gall the invade one of their higher profile warehouses and left such a mess. The company was formidable enough to track down the backers behind the trespassers, meaning you two, without actually figuring out your identities.'

'At first, they planned to destroy the perpetrators but once they found out it was Ccinedera pulling the strings, they settled with a compensation for the two hundred million lien loss the explosion caused them. Well, that and elimination of the agents who committed these crimes.' Two hundred million... I really hoped Weiss never found out I was the one who started the explosion.

Broker continued speaking, 'for reason number two, Mr Breaker would have had firsthand experience. Ccinedera has begun experimenting on the local Grimm populace. Even I do not know what the purpose of the research is but I have received reports and they are greatly detrimental to the city of Vale.'

'Did you just say experimenting on Grimm?'

'Yes. Ccinedera's scientific wing is the most proficient in the world on the subject of Grimm physiology. For reasons unknown the organisation has, since its founding, diverted a significant portion of it finances to Grimm research.'

'What else do they use their money on?' I asked.

'You mean other than the usual bribes and clean up costs? I believe majority of their fundings go towards investing in terrorist organisations, giving means to extremists groups to express their radical ideologies. The second largest avenue of investment is the aforementioned scientific wing.'

'They invest in terrorist groups? That can't be a profitable investment,' I commented.

Harmony shook her head. 'Only if you looked from monetary point of view. If you fund terrorists who has similar goals as you, you can basically keep your hands clean while somebody else takes the gun and charge into battle.'

Broker concurred. 'An accurate analysis. Ccinedera maintains its secrecy by never being at the front where the media prints headlines. That's how they remain relatively unopposed despite several decades' worth of history.'

A thought crossed my mind. 'Hold on, you said I had firsthand experience with their research. Does that mean Lycan was a result of their meddling?'

'You saw the Identified Grimm, yes? Was there anything unusual about it?'

'You mean other than the fact that it was deadly as all hell? I guess it attacking other Grimm is unusual.'

At my information, a contemplative look came upon Broker's face, a first sign of emotion in a while. 'Possible amplification of its aggressiveness? No. Too simple and unproductive. Possibly incapacitating friend or foe identification process. My, that would be disastrous.'

'Why's that?' Lestia asked.

'Hmm?' Broker replied, slight disconnected in his thoughts.

'Why is... whatever you said... disastrous?'

Understanding came the the information broker. 'Ah, that. Well, if Ccinedera can successfully alter what Grimm perceive as allies and enemies, they can...'

'...direct the Grimm to attack whichever target they want, leaving themselves unscathed.' I finished. I shivered a bit at this terrifying concept. A nefarious organisation with the technology to control the single greatest threat to humanity? Disastrous did not do the concept justice.

Broker did not seem pleased being interjected but he let the matter drop. 'It's all just conjecture on my part. My point is; I do not claim to be a saint but at least I have a line I draw and keep. Ccinedera may employ gentler, more sophisticated methods of operation but they do not possess any lines of sort. I do not know of their ultimate goal. However, their past accomplishments paint a very definitive and clear picture that they do not shy from resorting to alarmingly horrendous tactics.'

A determined look came to Lestia. 'We need to stop them.' Her expression was fierce. I suspected she thought of ursa attack on her village and could not abide the idea of a terrorist organisation using Grimm for their own ends.

I was about to disagree – to protest against the necessity of us getting involved when there were experienced huntsmen around – then I remembered my own actions. Haven't I been doing things on my own to keep the street kids safe? If this Ccinedera is really the root of all these problems, isn't cooperating with Broker the best way to achieve my own goals?

On the other hand, I was inclined to take Broker's generous offer with a pinch of salt. This was Broker we were talking about. Did I really trust him?

Harmony was introspective as well. I wondered what she was thinking. Harmony's sense for these kind of deals was superior to mine. It would be good to know her opinion. As if to answer my thought, she voiced out, 'are you sure this Ccinedera killed Bernand?' The repressed fury slithered forth with the question.

'If you agree to assist me, you can verify the intels yourself.'

Without any hesitation, she muttered, 'I'm in.' Oh boy.

I would have told her off if I did not know doing so was a pointless. Lestia shot me a concerned glance, asking me what my decision was. From the glance alone, I knew she was going to stick with whatever choice I made. It was nice having somebody who would back me unconditionally.

It did make me ponder upon the choice ahead of me more seriously, however. But in my heart I knew I would ultimately accept. I could not just let Harmony barrel through ahead in her current state.

'Okay. I'm in as well,' I announced.

Broker did not seem surprised. 'Excellent. With this, removing Ccinedera from Vale is a step closer.'

Just like that, we were now in alliance with the greatest information broker this city has ever known. It seemed a bit unreal to me, you know. Up till today, the Broker was an entity out of fairy tale to me. The sort of figure you've heard great things about – or terrible, depending on your moral standing – but seem beyond real.

Some days just move too fast for me.

Harmony was less awed by the latest development, focused more on the practical elements such as how to wreck havoc on the group that got her lover killed. 'So what's my first assignment?'

'Ccinedera will be trying to plant their own agents into the undermarket. Their caution make them hesitant to take action in blind territory. Locate their infiltrators to your community and disclose the intel to me. If you accomplish this task well, we should be able to delay their operations.'

My ex-partner gave a nod. 'Sounds easy enough.'

'As for Breaker, your job would be to seek allies in Beacon. Ccinedera's reach is global and it isn't the caressing kind. They must have made some enemies in Beacon, knowingly or unknowingly. If you can filter them out from the crowd, and I will do the rest.' Lestia and I nodded in unison.

Broker took a glance at my huntress companion and a rare frown descended on his face. 'I'm not sure about what to think of your friend here. She was not accounted for.' He said the words "unaccounted for" in a manner one might mention a contagious disease.

'So I'm a bonus. You should consider yourself lucky,' she cheerfully replied.

'Yes, I suppose that is one way to describe your appearance. Perhaps with extra hands on the task, we can successfully prevent their incursion in Vale.'

'Why haven't they done that yet?' I asked, 'I mean, you said they have already settled in in other cities, right? So why wasn't Vale breached?'

'Because Maker used to rule the undermarket with an iron grip. He decided what was acceptable and what wasn't. He harbored deep hatred for Ccinedera and did not accept them in his cities. And you might know from firsthand experience; Maker was very skilled at getting what he wanted.'

I stood there dumbfounded by this nugget of information. If Maker was the one keeping this terrorist organisation at bay, that means...

'It's not your fault,' Harmony intruded upon my reverie.

'What's not his fault?' Lestia asked for clarification.

'I believe Miss Harmony is assuring Mr Breaker that Ccinedera's presence in Vale is not the result of Maker's untimely demise at hand of Mr Breaker,' Broker answered. 'Although strictly speaking, had Maker not been killed five years back, Ccinedera's attempt to gain foothold today would be possible.'

'Shut your trap!' Lestia snarled.

I waved at my partner in order to placate her. 'It's okay, Lestia. You don't have to get upset for my sake.' I faced Broker. 'I'll be returning to Beacon. If you need me, I'm sure you can contact me. Send me a contact detail so that I can contact you when I need you.' Not bothering to wait for a reply, I trudged out of the room. My senses heard Lestia follow me out but I barely registered.

Seriously, some days just move way too fast for me.

-x-x-x-x-

**AN: And with this, I come to a wrap for the RWBY Season 1 timeline. Man, this writing business is slooooooow. It's really astounding how some author can just pump out contents at regular basis. Respect.**

**Anw, so with this I have finally named the villain group in a certain manner. Not only that, I made clear where the Broker and Maker stood in this story. At least, that was the intent of this chpt. Hoping I delivered.**

**Now I can stick to normal school life of Balthazar for awhile! Oh happy days where there isn't overwhelming content to be properly delivered. For next few chpts, the timeline will be btw Season 1 and Season 2 or in character's point of view, the time btw his semesters. So there won't be anything too big an arc. Probability.**

**And too celebrate this end of arc, let's have another Melanis's class duel! I was so hyped about it when I mentioned it in the last chapter. I can't believe it would be this long before I would be actually getting around to it. The last time I asked, people were leaning towards Circe vs Weiss or Yang + Alex vs Melanis. Please do leave a comment on what sort of matchup you wanna read about. **

**I love Melanis's duels because it's so isolated. I can do whatever fight I want without having to alter the story progression whatsoever. **

**And I babble too much again. Gonna piece out. Ciao.**


	19. Chapter 19: Scores

****DISCLAIMER: Those that ought to belong to others shall belong to their respective owners. Those that ought to belong to me, if any, shall belong to me.****

****A/N: I'm slow as always but this time I have a semi-decent reason. Wait... What? Uh-huh. Oh. I see. Nope, my spiritual advisor says the excuse I had was not valid. Sorry for late post. Do enjoy.****

-x-x-x-x-

Scores

'And that concludes the lesson regarding wartime strategic advantages between infantry and artillery as a form of combat engagement. Any questions?' Melanis asked, making it clear from his tone of voice that no questions were to be posed. I didn't blame him. The lesson had been dry from start to finish.

In fact, he had made it clear at beginning of the lesson that he only covered this topic because it was a mandatory subject in our syllabus and Professor Goodwitch had made it plain to him that he had no right to omit it in his lessons.

Looking relieved, he took another swig from his favorite beverage. 'Before we end the last lesson of the semester with the customary duel, I am bound by Glynda's insistence to inform you people on the next semester's lesson plans. She claimed that my lessons so far have been far too inpromptu and that they need to be more systematic in the future.'

'As much as it pains to admit it, her advice does have elements of truth within. Therefore, next semester, I will be teaching the Leslie Galien's five components of combat. This is a method of combat situation breakdown that was devised by a particularly unpopular huntress forty years ago. While her reputation wasn't anything to brag about, her simplistic way of reducing any battle situation into these five components does have merits, if one bothered to think about it.' He stopped on the subject there, not expanding on the nature of these five components. Typical Melanis, I thought, withholding the information people were most curious about just to be annoying.

'However, those are for next semester. For now, it's time for two huntsmen cadets to butt heads together to prove who is more resilent of the two,' he announced, 'and on that note, I feel it is relevant to inform you all that I have not decided on today's candidates. That means I'm open to suggestions.' Immediately, a chorus of shouts bounced around the room, some of the cadets volunteering themselves as the majority offered the names of their partners.

Melanis chuckled at the scene. 'Control yourselves. We shall make a game of this. Each one of you will write the name of your intended opponent. The two loving pair who gets each other's name will then have your wish granted. If more than one pair qualify for the honor, we shall hold a vote.'

A couple questions were raised, asking for clarifications on the rules. Once the explanations were made and idle curiosities were quashed, the room was filled with the silence of serious considerations. The process of writing the name was not simply a matter of jotting down the person one wished to fight. If one earnestly desired to have a duel, he also had to consider who was likely to match him back.

Of course, while everyone else was contemplating hard to succeed getting a duelling partner, I was thinking hard on how to avoid getting myself into such shitty situation. Realistically, the possibility of being selected when I did not seek to be chosen was slim. However, paranoia heeded no counsel from rationality. As long as the slightest possibility existed, I had to take care. Knowing Fortune's fondness for tossing me into shitty situations, I will be damned if I was going to let it catch me with my pants down.

Who was the mostly like to write my name? Of course, being one of the weakest huntsmen in the cohort, anybody who wanted to win their duel could be considering me right now. For that reason alone, I was reluctant to randomly pick a name from air.

Maybe I should try Raynee. She was soft-hearted. I couldn't picture her choosing to fight her friends. But then again, Raynee was a person who was far too attached to her friends. Considering that and the fact that her pool of friends was small, it was far too risky. There was a distinct chance she might put my name in just to get to see me again, never mind that doing so lock us into a duel.

But if I thought about the issue in reverse, the person least likely to challenge me would be the one who would regularly get to pummel me. There was no way Alex would waste his chance for a duel on me. He valued a good fight too much for that. Praying my hunch was on spot, I scribbled Alex Marsdonia on my paper.

In good time, the strips of paper were collected. The names were called out and pairs were matched if they happened. There weren't many of them, suprisingly. I guess finding a matching pair is never easy, huh? Be it socks, love or duels, it's not easy to find the one that matches.

My thoughts were getting philosophical again, meaning I was anxious and my mind was generating distractions. The reason for my anxiety was the flame-haired knight sitting beside. Alex had heard his name from my strip and was grinning the sort of grin that would make a guy who challeneged him with the intent of avoiding a fight nervous. Finally, Alex's strip was pulled. When Pyrrha Nikos was uttered by Melanis, my relief was palpable. Damn Alex and his grin.

Who wasn't relieved to hear Pyrrha's name on Alex's paper was Yang. I heard her exclaim when her name was not called. She was not the only one taken back, if the general murmur around the classroom was any indication. Admittedly, I was surprised Alex haven't gone for Yang as well. They have not yet had the rematch since the first duel and today would have been opportune for it.

On the other hand, Pyrrha was a powerhouse he have yet to test so I could understand his decision. It was too bad it wasn't going to pay off because Pyrrha had gunned for Raynee instead. Apparently, the warrior huntress knew who was at the top of the pyramid.

And just like the knight, the lady warrior would get no duel this day because Raynee had placed my name on her strip. A shiver ran down my spine at how close my escape was. When my name was announced from her strip, I had shot her a surprised glance. She had waved to me, as if her challenge was like an invite to a party. Knowing her, she probably thought being involved in the same activity with me was all that mattered.

Well, all that mattered to me was the fact that I managed to avoid the predicament. For once, my luck had held and I refused to dwell on how badly it could have been otherwise.

Melanis pulled out his next strip of paper and froze upon reading it. From his body language, I saw that whatever was wriiten in that paper agitated him. He cleared his throat a few times before saying, 'alright. This one's Circe's. She wrote Weiss Schnee.'

Holy shit. No wonder he gave pause.

Circe and Weiss were not on the best of terms. In fact, they were pretty much nemeses. I shot a questioning look at my dustcaster friend. She met it squarely, not at all having second doubts over her decision. Her demeanor was calm and collected as usual, making me realise that her challenge to Weiss was not the result of a rash impulse.

I considered the matter further, viewing the situation in another light. Circe and Weiss were going to duke it out eventually. The anoymity between the two wasn't something that could be diffused with a nice chat over a cup of tea or two. If these two could blow their steam out in a classroom under the scrunity of Melanis's duelling ethics, maybe it was for a better.

Melanis rummaged through the rest of the paper strips until he found the one he was looking for. He shot Weiss a glare and muttered, 'did you two plan this?' before announcing out loud, 'alright, Weiss challenged Circe back. We have a pair.' Clearly he was not happy with the turn of events. Nothing he could do about it though, it had occurred legitimately.

The rest of the strips were read and the pairs were sbjected to votes. Circe and Weiss won by a significant margin. The strife between the two of them was not as well hidden as the teacher would have liked, apparently.

Melanis, rubbing the sides of his forehead, accepted his fate. 'This is the last time I let you guys pick your opponents,' he declared before adding, 'fine. Have it your way then. Would the two huntresses come on to the podium? Let's get this over with.'

-x-x-x-x-

With surprising amount of politeness from both combatants, the formalities before the duel such as exchange of greetings and acknowledgement of rules were performed. Melanis warned them sternly not to blow the duel out of proportions and to adhere to his command once he declares the duel over. Once they agreed to the conditions set, he stepped off the stage reluctantly and took a seat in the front row.

The two combatants stood appraising each other silently. This was already a deviation from the norm, as most students spent the first minutes of a duel smack-talking each other. These two did no such thing, instead opting to glare in pure silence. As if heeding their mute command, we the spectators also ceased making noise.

Then without any preamble, Circe launched a fireball at the girl in white.

Weiss niftily jumped out of its path with the aid of her glyph. However, Circe clearly had known her first attack was not going to hit her opponent. That was why she had queued up two more balls of flame to succeed where the initial one had failed. Weiss noticed quickly enough to dodge the second fireball but had to compromise with the third one by blocking it with another glyph.

Perhaps the heat seeped through the cracks, for Weiss staggered despite the glyph acting as her shield. Apparently, blocking a fireball was different from blocking a physical object. As the swordswoman faltered, the dustcaster did not permit her a moment of respite, tendrils of flame slithering across the distance between them.

Even in the moments of pressure, Weiss was not one to crack. She sliced across the floor with a trail of glaciers, cutting off the tendrils, and earned herself the space she needed to recompose her stance. To my eyes though, the effort Weiss had expended to defend against the fire tendrils was excessive but I guess she didn't really have the luxury to fine-tune her dust expenditure.

Sensing acutely that her momentum was gone, Circe reined in her attacks. The two huntresses were assessing each other again, not unlike how two feline predators would circle one another until one gave an opening for the other to exploit.

Testing the waters, Weiss lanced out with fire. Circe barely flinched from the blaze, retaliating with a bolt of lightning that punctured through the white heiress's fire and nearly collided with her. The heiress evaded to the side and delivered a cone of frost back to the purple-haired huntress. This time, Circe was forced to conjure up a proper wall of fire to fend off the attack. Even so, the jet of steam knocked her back.

As she fell, she burned the area between them with indiscriminate wave of fire, forbidding the white huntress from pursuing her advantage. Weiss, however, was not strictly dependent on the ground for movement. Assessing the situation in a snap, she formed glyphs and crossed over the inferno underneath.

Circe barely had time to stand on her feet before Weiss was upon her. Myrtenaster screamed its silent glee at the chance to slice at the dustcaster. Circe's CouP De Grace was a powerful weapon in its own right but close combat was quickly proving to be not where its right was at. It was durable enough to take Myrtenaster's blows but it could not prove its wielder a way to overcome the range disparity between the two of them.

Still, Circe had other cards she could play. CouP De Grace gleamed with yellow and Circe avoided Weiss's next blow with sudden acclerated agility. Links trailed behind her as she glided past Weiss and latched onto the girl in white. Like a spider wrapping its prey, Circe weaved the links, slowly but surely gripping her opponent in her clutch.

Yet, Weiss was no prey. After realising that attempting to individually sever the links was a fruitless endeavor, she wrapped herself with fire, burning the links away.

Fire was Circe's domain. She punched through the fire without hesitation and managed to land her palm upon the heiress. An instant later, an explosion erupted upon the girl in white.

Clearly, in terms of pure dustcasting, Circe had the upper hand. When it came to fire, it was obvious Circe did not even consider Weiss's flames to be a threat. I did notice that Circe wasn't casting ice herself – which I knew from a painful personal experience that she was apt at – meaning Circe was lacking confidence pitting her ice dustcasting against that of Weiss's.

The fact of the matter was that Weiss was not a dustcaster – no matter how strong her ice might be – but Circe was. Weiss should not have tried to match Circe in a ranged fight at the start. She should have gone into the melee right off the bat and tried to pressure her into making a mistake. Instead, she had allowed Circe to gain momentum and control the field, an advantage every dustcaster hopes to create.

Knowing the meticulous mind possessed by my dustcaster friend, I suspected that she had orchestrated the flow of the battle from the start. Forcing Weiss to use fire to defend herself and then punching through it hard was a nice touch, definitely a tactic worth remembering.

However, by now, Weiss was definitely onto Circe's game plan. I doubted we were going to see any more fire from out of her this duel and I knew the heiress was intelligent enough to come up with a counter strategy against the links in due time.

In short, Circe was on the clock. A dust gauntlet carried a great amount of dust but it was not infinite. Weiss's Myrtenaster on the other hand, well, I doubted it was going to go anywhere any time soon. The same applied to stamina as well. Circe was no weakling but in comparison to Weiss, she was definitely less durable.

Weiss picked herself from the floor. Her white dress was smudged with soot, matching the state she was in. Her glare was flint and I squirmed slightly upon observing it. It felt as if the very atmosphere chilled to suit her determination.

Circe, however, was not as easily intimidated as me. She flung another bolt of lightning at the ice princess, maybe hoping to catch her off-guard.

But off-guard she was not. A pillar of ice emerged in the lightning fork's path, shielding the heiress from the attack and covering her from the dustcaster's view. As the pillar chattered under the impact, Weiss sought her chance. Tiny glyphs formed around each ice shards, holding them in air. The glyphs lasted barely a second – I thought I saw them turn in color – before the ice lances sliced towards Circe.

There are times when blocking is better than dodging; this wasn't one of them. There were simply too much ice. Circe would have to use considerable dust to create a shield for herself – since she did not carry any physical shields – if she wanted to remain in place. I saw her snap decision. She dived to her side before the torrent of crystaline boulders shredded at her position.

I wasn't the only one to see her successful dodge though. Glyphs formed under Weiss's feet before she leapt off the platform. A moment later, she was upon my teammate. Circe once more weaved the links around her. Weiss tried to sneak in as much strikes as possible before backing off from the ensnaring links. Once at a safe distance, she looked at the web with a calculating eye.

With a flick of Myrtenaster, a red glyph formed right under Circe's feet. Half a second later, Circe was ejected into the air, separated from her web. As she reached the apex of her launch, half a dozen tiny ice crystals trailed across to her – courtesy of the heiress – fastening her into place.

Weiss saw her opponent immobilized and generated an array of glyphs encompassing the spot. With her platform glyphs set, she sliced through the air towards the dustcaster, Myrtenaster at the ready.

An alarmed expression came upon Circe's face. It was clear that she had not expected to be so forcibly displaced. If Weiss was allowed to land her series of blows, she was in some serious trouble. Urgently, she encased herself in an orb of flame.

At this point, however, Weiss was past caring about puny sheets of fire. Her hold on Myrtenaster did not waver at the sight of the blazing globe. She stepped on the first glyph. Myrtenaster's chamber rotated. Then she lunged at the other huntress, diving into the globe without hesitation. A loud clang rang about the classroom. From the orb, Weiss emerged, stepping onto her second glyph before diving again towards her enemy. She surged out of the fire again and repeated the processes a few more times.

All this took place in matter of a few seconds. Circe sported a pained expression and Weiss did not look peachy either. Still neither was giving up yet. Weiss stepped onto another of her glyphs, ready to plunge into the blazing globe, determined to crack it apart no matter the cost.

Circe's links shot across the room, connecting the dustcaster with every single glyph platforms that Weiss had created. Without any warning of sorts, every single one of them simultaneously shattered, causing both huntresses to plummet to ground.

Weiss was the first to get back onto her feet. She trudged towards my teammate, who remained collapsed and inquired, 'what... what did you just do?' Only the sheer exhaustion kept the edge off her voice.

Circe, however, was in no condition to respond. She was barely conscious as it was, her eyes glazed and unfocused. Melanis stepped out of his seat, approached my team member, – something I dearly wanted to do myself – assessed her state and motioned at Alex to approach. He muttered swiftly at the huntsman cadet before passing the exhausted dustcaster into her partner's arms. Alex carried her out of the classroom briskly. I didn't need to be a rocket scientist to make the assumption that he was taking her to infirmary.

Ruby was also up on the podium, escorting Weiss back to her seat. While it was clear the heiress was far from peachy, her injuries apparently did not warrant a visit to the tyrannical nurse.

Melanis took the stage once more, more to keep the minds of his students off the injured classmate than to properly bring his lesson a closure. 'What you saw just there, ladies and gentlemen, is an insanely high level aura technique; emphasis on insane. Huntsmen whose semblance projects aura into a tangible form are able to, with training, interfere with another's projected aura. Both Circe and Weiss have such aura projecting semblance. Circe had etched her semblance onto Weiss's and disrupted its supply of power.'

A collective gasps of awe came alive at Melanis's information. Holy crap. I have never imagined it possible for somebody to hijack another's semblance. Damn, that sounded awesome.

And terrifying.

Melanis put forth his palms to settle his audience so that he could finish. 'As you saw, the skill is nothing easy to perform. The amount of willpower needed to directly disengage another person's semblance with yours is immense. Especially in the heat of a battle, doing such a thing was borderline reckless.' Disapproval appeared on Melanis's face as he shared his viewpoint.

'The fact that Circe is able to achieve something like this is astounding – even if the feat contributed to her loss – because this means that with practice, she could reach a stage where she could easily disarm an opponent whose semblance projects his aura.' Melanis was looking at Alex as he said this and all of a sudden, I realised who was one such person.

'Well, regardless, I must commend the two of them for the remarkable duel. Clearly the two of them wanted the victory dearly. Although the victor is Weiss this time round, remember that the fight could have easily gone either way if Circe was slightly more resilent. Now, homework. As per usual, duel assessment. The same things: each person's merits, shortcomings and your own strategy facing the foe. The deadline for this one will be slightly longer than usual, due to the fact that I won't be arond during the semester break. With this, I bid you all goodbye and farewell for the semester break ahead. I know I will.' With his finishing words, Melanis turned and left. The classroom buzzed with chatter the moment he left, mostly likely to discuss latest duel.

'Let's go check on Circe,' Lestia suggested.

I nodded, 'yes, let's.' My eyes darted at Weiss though, my mind worried about her condition. Our eyes met for the briefest moment and in that moment I thought I saw apprehension. Then our gaze broke and Weiss looked fine, if otherwise extremely tired. I must have imagined things.

'Come on, we don't have much time before I have to go.' Lestia tugged at my sleeve. She had to get on the airship that left for the City since she planned to visit her brother over the break.

'Alright, alright. I'm going.' I followed her out.

-x-x-x-x-

'Honestly, Lestia. I am perfectly fine. The nurse has declared so,' Circe assured my partner, trying to pry the hugging girl off her.

Alex enjoyed Circe's plight with great amusement. 'Trust me; to earn that declaration was no easy feat. I swear she wanted Circe to be hurt.'

The nurse's voice, crisp and curt, rang from her desk. 'Blashpeme once more, Mr Marsdonia, and I will have you admitted for occasional bouts of delusion.'

Alex gasped in mock horror. 'Yes ma'am. Sorry.' He twirled his finger a few rounds by his temple, indicating the nurse was not quite right in the mind.

Circe slapped him in the arm. 'Alex, that's extremely rude.'

Alex sighed. 'Yes mom. Sorry' He earned another slap for that.

'Anyway, I'm glad you're alright, Circe,' I said.

'Thank you kindly, Balthazar. I, on the other hand, am nonetheless peeved at having collapsed in the midst of a duel,' Circe replied.

'You must be the only one then. Everyone is impressed with the semblance disruption. I've never seen anything anything like that.' The more I thought about it, the more I found the technique intriquing. It was like malfunction but working on other people's semblances. I wanted to learn it.

'That would be due to the fact that nobody else would be foolish enough to attempt the endeavor without adequate training invested into it. I had only learned of it as a concept. It was downright foolery to perform it in the heat of a battle.'

I smiled resignedly at Circe's tendency to be hard on herself. 'Actually, you're wrong there. It's more the fact that nobody was smart enough to know it, much less try it. Plus, don't call yourself foolish. You'll trample on Lestia's authority.'

'Hey! I resent that,' my partner protested. Alex and Circe joined me in laughter.

Alex stretched himself off his seat and took a look at his scroll. 'Well, it's nice we got this litttle group session before going off. Won't be seeing the two of you for awhile.' Just as Lestia was going to her home, Circe and Alex were heading back to theirs. Well, technically, Circe was going to her home and Alex was tagging along, just as he always did. As for me, well, I did have a few houses I could stay in Vale – none of them big, since they were just safehouses – but then I was going to be alone anyway so I figured I should just stay in Beacon.

Circe also had something to say, 'hopefully, when we return, you will finally share with us what transpired in City of Vale that day.' I coughed at her comment. Lestia did the same. Alex and Circe exchanged a look.

So I had not told them yet about the incident in Vale nor the truth about my previous life; sue me. It wasn't that I wanted to keep it a secret forever; I just wasn't prepared to come clean about myself.

'I'll tell you two everything once you are back; I promise. I just need time to gather myself.'

'Oberon's throne, boss man. Whatever it is, I hope it matches the air you're putting on,' Alex chuckled.

'Oh, I have no doubt it is astounding. Lestia had refused to share even the slightest tidbit of information on the matter, which speaks volumes of its gravity,' Circe muttered.

I flashed my partner a glance of gratitude. She knew pretty much everything now – I had no chance of peeling her off after everything that went down with Harmony and the Broker. 'Really. I'll tell you everything when we're back together,' I assured my purple-haired friend.

'So you say. Be aware I will hold you to that.' Our eyes met. Despite the fact that Circe was the one bed-ridden and I was the one on my feet, I felt as if I was at her mercy.

Fortunately, the nurse – of all the unlikely people to come to my rescue – came to my rescue. 'Visiting time is over. Ms Arganets needs to undergo one final checkup before I discharge her from the infirmary. All other personnel who have no medical business, leave immediately. This is not up for discussion.'

So we left, knowing better than to confront the woman. Alex bade us farewell by the infirmary's doorstep, saying he planned to wait for Circe and help her to the airship. Lestia and I took a walk afterwards, mostly making small talk before I sent her off to catch the airship. Then I returned to our dormitory which was, for the first time, empty except for me. I plopped down on my bed, hoping to get some shut-eye before dinner.

Man, it's gonna be some long weeks.

-x-x-x-x-

My scroll started to ring, bleeping incessantly to inform me that someone somewhere at this moment wished to speak to me.

Which quite sucked because I was asleep.

'Ugh. Go away,' I told the scroll, hoping the person on the other end somehow got my earnest message. I really didn't want to wake up. For the first time since ever, I was able to sleep with the air-conditioning at full blast. Lestia suffered cold terribly and had only allowed the barest minimum when it came to cold currents airing the room. Now that she was not here, I was finally able to enjoy all the privileges this high-budget academy had to offer.

**Beep beep beep.**

Regrettably, Fortune did not permit an undisturbed nap. Fumbling half blindly in my drowsy state, I snatched my scroll and checked the caller ID. To my irritation, it was an unknown number. I mumbled a few profanities, seriously considered ignoring it and going back to sleep before telling myself that I may as well answer since I was awake. I answered the call, 'hello?'

A girl's voice spoke to me. 'Breaker, It's me, Fei. I think you might want to come here.'

The first thought was; who the hell is Fei? It took me a couple of minutes of recollection before I remembered where I heard the name. She was the Broker's spy agent, the cute one that worked in Marlissa's Food Heaven. 'Yeah. Why are you calling?' My tone was as grinding as I could possibly make it. Cute or no, she did just woke me from my sleep.

'Look, mushroom sauce. I'm doing you a favor by giving you this call; you can drop the attitude. There's a girl from Beacon attracting attention from the marketmen with her questions. Just come here to The Fishy Place and take her away before the natives get angry.'

The Fishy Place? That was all the way in the residential district. I didn't want to go that far. I growled, 'just because she's from Beacon does not mean she's my responsibility.'

'Well if you put it that way, I guess I'll just watch Burken's gang pummel her senselessly.' Burken? Goddammit. I knew Burken and I knew the faunus marketman didn't give shit about huntress cadets – or anyone else, really – if they annoyed him. He had a streak of violence in him and the physical capacity to satisfy the urge.

I had to make sure he didn't kill anyone. 'I hate you so much right now,' I grumbled to Fei.

'Aww, I'm sorry. See you soon?'

Despite my irritation at her, I kind of was fond of Fei. She played things out coolly, even when people threatened her with knives. It helped that she also happened to be cute. With resignation, I replied, 'will be right over,' and killed the call.

-x-x-x-x-

Ah, The Fishy Place. Not the greatest name for a restaurant and certainly not befitting the restaurant of its calibre. Montier, the restaurant's owner, honored his lineage and chose to keep the name his great-grandparents came up with nearly a century ago. It was a good point to start a discussion, to be honest. Also, who cared about what the shop was called as long as their fish and chips were good?

I entered my favorite restaurant and made eye contact with Montier behind the counter. Nonchalantly, I ran the back of my hand along my jawline, as if wiping off the perspiration there. Montier saw the signal and pretended to not know me, simply offering a customary welcome he would have given any random customers. If there really was a Beacon cadet here, I did not want her to know I was familiar with the owner of an establishment where some marketmen were known to frequent.

I caught sight of Fei, wearing an apron to indicate her waitress status. It was curious to know that Broker embedded agents in places such as this. Even though a lot of marketmen did visit The Fishy Place, the establishment was strictly above ground; no shady dealings went on here, just food. But then, I guess you don't become the most knowledgeable information broker in the city by not having your agents everywhere.

I realised that I was admiring her profile and promptly put an end to that. Come on brain, you were with Raynee. You can desensitize yourself to anyone if you can become resistant to her. Fei was cute but she was still believable cute. Normal cute. Human cute. Not like Raynee. I can do this.

I strode over to her, making eye contact to acknowledge her location. She gave me a smile in greetings. A tiny nudge with her chin pointed towards the person of interest today. I followed the direction and, to my surprise, found myself looking at Blake Belladonna.

She stood over a table full of faunus, her displeasure most evident even to the drunk crowd. Burken himself was there – in all his rhino faunus glory – glaring at the girl for meddling with their night drinking. He wasn't furious yet – because if he was, chairs would be flying and fists would be punching – but I could see that he didn't have far before it inevitably happened. I needed to make sure Blake got out safely. Lestia would never forgive me if I watched a member of Team RWBY walking into danger and did nothing to stop her.

But first, I needed intel. 'What's she doing here?' I asked Fei.

She shrugged. 'It looked as if she was pestering them for something. Probably information, since I cannot imagine her purchasing their services for anything.' Burken's service tended to follow the philosphy of "end justifies the means" where the end equated profit and means equated violence.

'So you mean to say you don't know anything?'

'In a nutshell; yeah,' she admitted shamelessly.

I could feel a headache coming. 'Thanks a bunch. Let's go and break up a fight before it happens yeah?'

Fei gave me a funny look. 'Hey, wait a minute. You're joking, right? I'm not going anywhere near Burken. I like you, Breaker, but not that much.'

I sighed. If you wanted something done, you had to do it yourself. 'Whatever. You stay here in case we need to make a quick getaway, understand?' I instructed. I don't think she was happy with it but she could see I wasn't really in the mood to entertain arguments either. She nodded.

Right, easy part over. Now for the hard part. I shed the lightweight expression I could put on in Beacon and wore my street face. I needed to be Breaker to talk to Burken. If I had the moment to spare, I could have amused at the fact that despite my "retirement" I still had to invoke my nefarious identity more often than not. Leopard does not shed his spots, huh.

As I approached them, my business psyche clamped down on all other side thoughts. I had to contemplate fast on how I was going to approach the problem. Well, it was always an option to be just honest and ask Burken nicely to let Blake leave with me. Yeah right. Burken snorted upon weakness and to him, nice was weak. He knew me as Breaker so being Breaker was my best bet.

Soon I was near enough to catch the remnants of their conversation. Blake was speaking angrily, demanding, 'just tell me where and when they are meeting. I need to know!'

Burken chuckled but there were sandstones in his outburst. 'Look here, girl. I will repeat for the last stinking time, I have no idea what your talking about.' His manner made it clear he had the exact idea what she was asking for.

'Don't lie to me! There's no way you don't know. I know how you people operate; you always keep track of the White Fang. It would be stupid not to.' She spat the words out.

Burken had enough. He gestured to his crew around him. 'Lookie here, lads, this hussy thinks I'm stupid! Maybe I am! You guys wannna show her how stupid guys deal with pretty lone girls?'

Right. That's gone far enough, I think. I reinforced my volume, to make sure my voice would carry over to all these brutes. 'Sit down Burken. Your breath is start to stink up the place.' It wasn't a shout but my words were not soft either. Both Burken and Blake's eyes fell upon me. While the former simply grunted in recognition, the latter was rather startled to see me.

'Balthazar?'

Burken nodded in greeting. 'Breaker. What business brings you here?' His words came out low and threatening but that was his usual tone.

I wagged a finger. 'Not business. Pleasure.' I wrapped my arm around Blake's slender waist.

Blake pratically jumped away from my touch, shoving me aside. 'Balthazar! What are you doing?'

Getting a reaction out of you and distracting you from Burken, I thought. Out loud I chuckled, 'she's shy in public. It's kind of cute.' Burken and his men laughed at my comment. Blake shot me daggers but I was beyond the point to break persona now.

One of the lackeys, the sort who would never manage to get himself promoted, uttered, 'so she's your bitch, huh?'

Promptly, I whipped out a throwing knife and pinned his foot to the floor. Blake gasped slightly. The idiot screamed. I ignored his screams. 'I do not appreciate you calling my girl a bitch, imbecile. Keep that in mind.' Nobody was laughing anymore, let me tell you.

Well, at least now Burken wasn't thinking about Blake; he was bristling at me. 'You are crossing a line, Breaker.'

'And he crossed the line blatantly. I'm not going to let such things pass.' Our eyes locked, starting a stare contest to determine which one of us will back down.

Let's take a moment to appreciate the fact that I, Balthazar Venarius, manned up enough to match a two metre juggernaut in a staring contest without pissing my pants. I mean, do you even know how intimidating a rhinocerotic faunus is? Burken was not a leader of a faunus crime gang by looking nice.

After a long brief moment, Burken must have decided that his henchman's injury wasn't worth the effort. 'I'll let this go, once.'

Suppressing the internal relief, I shrugged indifferently. 'Appreciate it,' I muttered and pulled a chair – I really needed to sit. I grabbed the still befuddled huntress's hand and led her to a seat. There were so many questions in her eyes, not to mention a healthy amount of wariness, but this was not the time for explanations. She understood this and meekly allowed herself to be seated. Then I grabbed myself a chair as well. Once we were sitting side to side, I placed a hand on her lap. She did not even flinch.

Blake knew how to act; what a surprise.

The small physical contact must have convinced the hulking faunus. 'So tell me, Breaker. Why is your girlfriend grilling us on a fine Friday night as we drink? Haven't you told her the scary stories about us in one of your bedtime stories?'

Alright, conversation time, Balthazar. Do your best and don't mess up. 'Really Burken? Bedtime stories? I have better things to do in bed other than telling stories.' I don't think Blake was going to appreciate my comment but Burken's crew definitely did, if the laughter was any indication. Some even made suggestions, merciful Fortune; I was so dead later. Still, if doing all this earned me a passage out of here without a fight, any price I would need to bear was future me's problem.

'Alright, you're a happy couple. That doesn't mean your kitten can just come here and ruin our meal.'

I raised an eyebrow. 'You know, she will go away if you just give her what she wants.'

'Hmm? But how can I, if I don't know the answer?' Whatever it was that Blake wanted, Burken was being expensive about it.

I sighed expressively. 'Burken, I haven't had my dinner so my patience is flayed. My girl here has been engrossed in another task for a couple week now and has not been the best lover I've had. There is nothing more I would like than to get her focus back because she can be such a handful without it. So I would really appreciate if you dropped the doofus act because you have plenty of underlings who already do it for you.'

'What she is asking for is very costly information, Breaker.'

'Is it more costly than the end of our business relationship?'

'Maybe. The word on the street is that you're retired.'

'Yet here I am, talking to you and you talking to me. Doesn't seem so retired to me.'

He grunted, 'the fact you got yourself a girl does look kind of retired to me.'

I sighed once more. 'Look, Burken. Here's what's going to happen. Whether you tell me or not, I will find out.' Easier said than done, since I didn't have a clue what Blake was here for. But Burken didn't need to know that. 'But if I leave here without the information, I will have to spend time and effort to look for it elsewhere. And as I spend time and effort, I will constantly think of you and how you did not make my job easier. Then after that, as I take other jobs and see opportunities for friends to profit, I will remember how you did not make my job easier and think of handing said opportunities to other friends who are more likely to help me in future.'

An ugly – well, uglier – expression can on Burken's face. 'I don't take kindly to threats, Breaker.' While an angry Burken was terrifying in a fight, he was good in a negotiation – unless he was on your side, then it sucked.

'And I don't take kindly to people wasting my time. So the question is; are we taking kindly? It's your decision.' I declared the ultimatum, fervently hoping he yielded, never showing my true feeling on the surface.

Another reason it was so hard for me to get rid of the Breaker identity was because I had been so damn good at it. True, Harmony was the more renowned of the two of us but I had not been simply a spare part either. While we were practically unheard of by the undermarket's ranks and files, those who organized business ventures of clandestine kind have definitely heard of us. Burken knew what I was capable of and problems I could stir should I be irked.

'Oh fine,' he muttered, before scribbling something on a serviette from his table. He folded it and handed it to me. I considered taking a peek but decided against it for the sake of the professional facade I was maintaining.

'Thanks, Burken. I owe you.'

'Just get out of here, Breaker. Me and the boys just wantna drink in peace.'

'Good day to you then, gentlemen.' Well, if he was telling me to get lost, I was definitely going; wasn't going to stick around a second longer. I got up, ready to leave. Blake took cue from my actions.

Before we could leave though, Burken had one last thing to say. 'But why a faunus though? I didn't think you would date a cat.' A... faunus? Who? I glanced at Blake. There was abrupt alarm on her features; the look of a person whose secret was just out.

The shocked look on her face. Kitten, Burken had called her. Holy crap.

But now was not time to be dumbstruck by revelations. I turned to the rhino faunus and insouciantly replied, 'well, if I can work with you, Burken, I can definitely date a faunus. Especially one looking as fine as this one.' Then I walked away, hoping Burken would not saying anything more.

I released the sigh of relief once there was a considerable distance between myself and him. Thank god that went well. I have been punched by Burken before – to be fair though, it was mostly my fault at the time – and his rhinocerotic characteristic was not just for aesthetics. He fought for a living, just as I had snuck around for a living. I was immensely glad I did not have to contest him in combat.

Once we were safe to approach, Fei came and joined us. 'Wow, Breaker. You didn't need me at all.'

I gave her an irritated look. 'It would have been much easier if we went as couple and you acted as her friend.' Not to mention that would have meant no reprisal from Blake afterwards for posing as her boyfriend. I grabbed the glass of water Fei was carrying – probably meant for a customer – and gulped it before she could protest. 'Still, went better than expected,' I smiled in relief.

Fei smiled back. 'Well, I hope your next conversation is as smooth as the previous one.'

'What next conversa... ack!' A hand gripped me by the collar. Before I can resist, Blake dragged me out The Fishy Place, took me to a side alley and gave me a look. You know, the look. I could not pull my hand free from her grip, even though my rational thought told me Blake was not as strong as Lestia.

'What was all that about?' She didn't sound furious but she wasn't about to whistle a tune any moment either. Instead of being offended at the lack of gratitude for the service I just provided her, I decided to tell her the extent of help I had provided.

'Do you have any idea how many people that guy has beaten to a pulp just for looking at him funny?' I retorted. 'He's more tolerant towards girls but he's no a saint.'

'I was doing fine even before your arrival,' Blake insisted.

People tell me I should not antagonize irate people but I keep forgetting to listen. 'Of course you were, that's why you were shouting and my friend had to call me to make sure there was no incident.'

She jabbed a finger. 'Alright, let's talk about you being here then. Why is it that your friend felt the need to report my whereabouts to you?'

'I'm the only one from Beacon she knew.'

'Meaning she knew I was from Beacon. How did she know that?'

I jammed up at that one because I did not know how to tell Blake that the said friend was a spy in employ of the most successful information broker.

Her eyes narrowed at my silence. 'So not going to talk, huh?'

'We all have a secret or two in our pockets, don't we?'

'And you just found out about mine.' Here we were, to the root of the matter at last. It was surprising that I never realised that she was a faunus before. She didn't have any telltale features of a faunus like ears or... Ears. Cat faunus. Ears. Her bow.

I was such an idiot.

Or maybe she was extraordinarily gifted at disguising herself as human, I told myself. It didn't make me feel any better but I was going to keep at it until it did. 'So you are a faunus,' I said.

'Yes.' The way she spoke, made me think she was expecting something more; although I could not imagine what, for the love of Fortune.

I shrugged. In all honesty, I didn't care about her race. I was more interested in something else. 'So what were you asking from Burken?' I took out the serviette he had given me and was about to flip it open when she snatched it from my fingers.

I would have complained at her action if she was not looking so damn confused. 'Wait, that's it? You're not surprised that I'm a faunus?' Her expression went from perplexed to apprehensive. 'Did you know already?'

The torrent of questions took me off-guard 'No! Yes... No... I mean no,' I got a hold of myself before resuming, 'yes, I'm surprised that you're a faunus. No, I did not know.'

'And it doesn't bother you at all?'

'That you're a faunus? Uhh... No? Does it bother you that I'm a human?' I've seen some faunus who had hated me simply because I wasn't one. I didn't think Blake was such a person but maybe I was wrong.

She immediately denied my question. 'No, no. It doesn't bother me. I just thought...' She seemed unsure what else to say.

Maybe she just had a lot of experience with people being prejudiced simply for her background. I could sympathize with that; thieves tended to receive the same.

Well, I certainly have met a fair share of faunus in my ex-career. Some of them were bad, some of them were decent. Just like any other people, really. Oh sure, they had some common characteristics – such as weakness to my stink bomb, for example – but humans had such similarities with each other too. That did not make me prejudiced against humans, did it?

My method of learning to hate people was always on a personal basis.

Anyway, Blake seemed unsure what to do at this point – my lack of hostility really threw her off – so I should probably take hold of the conversation. 'Are you going to tell me what it was that we had to pretend to be a couple just to get?'

She seemed torn between the two choices before muttering, 'oh alright. I guess you deserve that much.' She opened the serviette and showed me an address and a date.

Didn't mean a thing to me. 'Fascinating, so what am I looking at?' I deadpanned.

'It's the time and location of the upcoming White Fang recruitmen...' There was a slight rustle around the corner behind us. I produced my gun, a reaction instilled in me after many incidents involving ambushes and back alleys.

'Whoever is over there, come out now or I'm going to start donating grenades.' I called out, Fiasco sighted towards the sound. To make good on my promise, I took out a HE grenade as well.

'Holy crap! Wait, Breaker. It's me!' Fei crept from the corner, looking worried and abashed at being caught.

'For Remnant's sake, Fei. I would have naded you.' I cried out. 'Hold on, were you eavesdropping on us?' For a split second, I considered chucking a grenade at her anyway.

She must have seen something in my expression because she hastedly defended herself. 'Oh, come on, Breaker. You can't fault a girl for trying.'

'Sure I can. You're not my responsibility,' I retorted.

Blake spoke up, 'Balthazar? Care to introduce who she is?'

'This is...' I paused, unsure how much I could tell her.

Fei took care of that problem. 'I'm the girl who contacted Breaker. You looked like you were in trouble.'

'So you were the one.' Blake was not appreciative. 'I was not in trouble.'

Fei shrugged, 'that's because you are new in Vale. You have no clue what Burken can do.'

'I can defend myself.'

'If you think you're more than a match for Burken and his crew, you're much more arrogant than your file suggests.'

Blake's weapon – I think it was called Gambol Shroud – came out, pointed at the spy. 'What do you mean my file?'

Fei took a step back. 'Ain't she a feisty one. Looks like that's my cue then. See you later, Breaker. It was so nice to see you again.' She produced a whip, coiled it around a balconey overhead and hightailed out of here.

Leaving me with the angry huntress. Damn that woman.

I tried to scurry away surreptitiously but Blake turned to me the moment the young spy left. 'Who. Is. She?' she asked nice and gently.

Damn you Fei. I was not going to keep your secret at expense of my well-being. 'She works for an information broker. Needless to say, she knows a lot of things.'

Blake seemed to ponder over the information, likely assessing how much it dispkeased her. It was awhile before she spoke again. 'And you? Who are you, Balthazar. Why does everyone call you Breaker?'

My first reaction was to spin a lie, to cover my past in a curtain of deceit. However, my conscience gripped at me. How long was I going to keep lying about who I was? I needed to come to terms with not trying to hide my passt. This was a good place to start as any.

Well, if I was going to spill, I refused to do it in a dirty alley. 'Did you have dinner? Do you wanna go grab a bite?' I asked. She was taken off guard at sudden shift in topic. 'I'll tell you what you want to know over dinner, I promise,' I assured her.

She looked mollified then, after the promise of an explanation. I guess people really do not like it when they are out of loop, huh? I thought about Circe and Alex, who were left in the dark. I thought back on Lestia, who had been greatly annoyed when she found out about my past. A sudden realisation clicked. They were not upset because of who I was; they were upset because I hid my past from them.

Just something to keep in mind.

A light shove on an arm made me lose my balance, causing me to tilt. I wobbled a bit before stablizing. Blake giggled at my display. 'So? Are we having that dinner or not?' she asked.

'Right this way,' I gestured.

'Oh, one more thing,' she said.

'Yes?'

'Don't think you can get off so easily from my questions, Pretty face. I have not forgotten being masqueraded as your girlfriend.'

Hoo boy.

-x-x-x-x-

**A/N: This chpt feels short in plot but is very long in writing. I don't know if that is a good thing. **

**In the end, I went with Weiss and Circe fight scene. I wanted to do Yang + Alex vs Melanis but my spiritual advisor insisted otherwise. Also, it was a good way to air out any bad feelings btw them in case I neede them to work together in a jiffy. Lastly, I have no idea what is the extent of Yang's semblance so I didn't want to shoot myself in the foot later if I portrayed the semblance differently from canon. Also, doing this Weiss vs Circe means I can keep Melanis's fighting style a little longer. That's sth else I can write abt in future. This writing business is hard.**

**Enough self-pity. In this chpt, the timeline is btw season 1 and 2. I am writing so that there is a semester break between semesters and for the next few chpts will be btw these time line. Of course, with his team members gone, for awhile Balt will have to hang around with some other people, yeah? Who, I wonder. Time to get to planning then.**

**The question I wanted to ask about today is what are your thoughts on original stories? Not just fanfics with original plots and characters (like this one) but an actual work of fiction from scratch, sponsored by your creative mind? When you write these, how do you approach it? Admittedly, my mind is delving on an original story these days so I have not been as prompt with my BotB writing (not that I was prompt to begin with anw)**

**Anyway, thx for the read,**

**desoldeben out.**


	20. Chapter 20: Wild Child

**DISCLAIMER: Those that ought to belong to others shall belong to their respective owners. Those that ought to belong to me, if any, shall belong to me.**

**A/N: Ahem. Hi guys. I... don't even know what to say. Even I think whatever excuse I have for the late submission is pathetic. I was not dead, although it appeared to be, seeing the time I missed. Well, enjoy this chapter.**

-x-x-x-x-

Wild Child

Calista... Calypso... Canada... I flipped ahead a few more pages. Cazheska... Cazzan... Cean... I groaned in irritation. This book was a no-go as well. I tossed it to the growing pile by my side and picked out another. Flipping straight to the index, I scanned through the list of names. Hopefully, this one will succeed where all others have failed and actually contain information about Ccinedera.

So engrossed was I at the tomes that I failed to notice the approaching steps. Such carelessness was soon punished with Professor Oobleck assailing my eardrums at point-blank range. 'It is heartening to see you continue to educate yourself despite the term break, Mr Venarius. If I do say so, you could really do with brushing up on cultures other than Vale. Your knowledge on Atlas is dismal and on Vacuo and Mistral, it is non-existent.'

I barely registered his words, much more focused on his volume. It was too loud. My panic surged with each syllables spoken, my eyes darting to surroundings to spot if the custodian of the Library was approaching. If Circe found me in the vicinity of the loud-mouthed professor, I was dead.

Then my brain caught up with my survival instinct and reminded it that Circe was at least a couple thousand kilometers away in Mistral, with the rest of the Arganets clan. Only then did the fear release its grasp on my poor fragile heart. Library was not good for my mental well-being.

'Yes, Ms Arganets does have that effect on people, doesn't she?' Bartholomew Oobleck commented, echoing my mind, 'I would not be so vocal had she been around.' So even professors acknowledged Circe's claim over this area, it seemed. I would have loved to know what incident enabled such acknowledgement.

Irrational fear over, I was able to consider the assistance the professor of history could offer. What I was searching for was probably based on history so he should be helpful. 'So professor, I came across a name mentioned by two old men in a restaurant I frequent. It sounded like something with huge significance so I have been trying to find it in one of the books. No luck so far.' Okay, so my story was crap but I could hardly tell a professor that my source was the most nefarious information broker in the city, now could I?

'What is the name you heard?' Professor Oobleck asked, taking the story at face value.

Here goes nothing. 'Ccinedera.'

A glimmer of intrigue surfaced in his eyes. 'Those were very knowledgeable folks you've eavesdropped then, Mr Venarius. Or very, very old.'

Interesting.

Oobleck poured out the information as he refreshed his memory on the subject. 'Ccinedera. A very old name. If I recall correctly, origin is Mistral. Heard of it maybe three times throughout my entire career.'

'So what is it, professor?'

'It is a name of a girl in a long forgotten children's tale.'

I blinked at him. A couple times. Of all the answers I could have gotten, I have never expected this.

'A children's tale?'

'Yes! Like one of those fairy tales we tell our young. Crammed with moral lessons somewhere, I'm sure. Otherwise, there's no point telling it to children, is there? Of course, the tastes of storytellers of the past were rather morbid. May not have a moral lesson after all.'

'You're losing me, professor. Are you quite certain Ccinedera is a fairy tale?'

'Most definitely. I do not forget what I hear, despite how seldom I come across them. Ccinedera is the name of a girl in the folk lore of the same name.'

So how does a name of a little girl link with a powerful yet secretive organisation? 'What's the story like?'

The request made the man pause. 'Give me a second to recall fully. Ahem.

_**Here we are, under the stars. **_

_**Once more, we embrace their scars. **_

_**Here I am, disillusioned at last. **_

_**By Fate's grace, the lies died fast. **_

_**I had thought the world as friend. **_

_**Treachery, all. From start to end. **_

_**Glare at the stars, these monsters cruel. **_

_**They are death, life their fuel. **_

_**For the world, the stars were fear. **_

_**To the stars, I was most dear.'**_

Wow. When he said the people of the past were morbid, he wasn't kidding. I don't know what I just heard but this was not something I was going to read to children at a bed time. 'That's... uhm...' Honestly, I didn't know what to say.

'Tad unnerving, yes? This is the most memorable part of the whole story. Our young heroine, who remains mute for the whole story, speaks this single poem at the end of the tale. There are a few more lines at end but they are lost to time, regrettably. All in all, I think the spirit is still captured.'

'But whats the story like?'

'The story occurs in a world ruled by "monsters". While it is easy to assume the monsters stand for Grimm, one must be aware that both words did exist in the time this story was told. This brings up an interesting question of why the author chose to refer to the Grimm as monsters instead of their actual name. There is a possibility that the monsters do not refer to Grimm, the setting of the story not being Remnant. However, these are just speculations; the author being long dead to confirm or deny the claims.'

Professor Oobleck has a tendency to bring up too much information. 'Fascinating, professor. But can you focus on the story first, discuss theories later?'

'Yes, of course. Humans were unable to contest the monsters effectively and sought truce through diplomacy. The monsters demanded Ccinedera as their tribute, a token of servitude. Humans had no clue what fate would befall the girl once she was given to the monsters but they chose to hand her over to save themselves. Ccinedera's opinion was not asked and, therefore, she had no say.'

'Her life among monster is described as harsh, albeit fair. The monsters were tough to serve but not cruel. The treatment was special only to Ccinedera, however, the other humans being manhandled if caught. She counted her blessings for the small mercy, all the while seeking chance to escape.'

'The chance does come one day, when monsters held a banquet. Ccinedera poisoned their food, rendering them all unconscious. Once all the monsters slumbered, she escaped back to humanity. However, the humanity's reception was less than frosty. They distrusted her for surviving her time with the monsters, some outright accusing her of treachery. Realising she was less safer with humans, she returned to the monsters.'

'The monsters were up in arms, preparing for war against humans. They blamed the poisoning and Ccinedera's disappearances to be humans' doing, you see. As far as they were concerned, humans had declared war.' He paused ominously.

_**Brrrnnng**_**. **I fell from my seat, the sudden ringing of my scroll catching me off guard. Cursing colorfully for making myself a spectacle, I checked the caller ID to see who it was I was cursing. **Exp. **This was Harmony.

As much as I wanted to hear the rest of the story, I knew Harmony would not call without prior notice unless the matter was important. Oh well, I can always hear the story's end next time. It was slightly annoying though; the story was being interesting. 'Professor Oobleck, I need to take this call. Perhaps you can tell me the rest another time?' I excused myself.

'So I see,' Oobleck commented, waving me farewell. He went on his way, no doubt to resume the business that had brought him to the library in the first place.

'Breaker here,' I spoke into the scroll.

'Need you here. Rebecca is sick and I have a mission.' She sounded tense, reflecting her state of mind. Ever since she began pursuing Bernand's killers, there was a hardness to her character. The scary thing was, it did not feel as if she was becoming someone different; it felt as if she was _returning _to someone she used to be. I did not know the detail of her life that preceded her current one in Vale but I knew it was a grim one.

Harmony being so devoted into the task had the beneficial effect of keeping me light and chirpy in contrast. I'm no stranger to brooding myself but seeing another being so kept me from following suit. 'What if I had a date today, Harmony? You need to tell me this sort of things ahead of time.' I produced a token protest.

'The last time you managed to grab a date was when we were pulling the con job. You don't have a date, Breaker.' Her tone was lighter as we reflected on the happy old days.

I ground my teeth; I try not to think about my conman days. 'You sure know how to ask for favor,' I deadpanned, my distaste clear. My distress made her chuckle.

'Just come quick. I need to go soon. Anyway, aren't you excited meeting Rebecca again after all this while?'

Rebecca. The little girl I held at gunpoint and threatened to follow my instructions. Excited was not the word I would use to describe how I felt at the prospect of meeting her again. Even if what I did – the act of getting her off the streets and into Harmony's care – was technically the right thing, the method I employed had left a bad taste in my mouth. I doubt it felt better from the receiving end.

'You have a lot to make up for to Rebecca, Balthazar. In fact, you should be thanking me for handing you this opportunity.'

I sighed in exasperation. I could protest but I was ultimately going to accept so I saw no point dragging this on. 'Where are you at?'

'Don't tell me you forgot where we used to live? You wound me, Breaker.'

'Ugh, shut up. I'll go already.'

I killed the call and checked the airship schedules to see how long I needed to wait for the next ride to Vale. As luck would have it, there was one just about to leave the port, provided I made a dash for it. Grumbling, I began to sprint towards port.

In all honesty, I was not as upset I presented myself to be. True, the call was abrupt and disruptive to my schedules but that was a given dealing with Harmony. I was just happy she wasn't so fully consumed in her quest for revenge. Plus, I was going to see Rebecca. It would be nice to see how she turned out after my intervention.

A light tap on my shoulder broke my chain of thought. As I turned to see who it was, a finger poked into my cheek. I shoved the finger aside and took a look at the childish prankster. The giggling face of Raynee greeted me, brightening up my day.

'Hi Balthazar!' Raynee Miraclewish greeted me heartily, giving me her stylistic formal bow. At this point, I have gotten used to her overly polite demeanor.

Still, she did poke my face. 'Were you poking me?' I asked in mock serious tone.

The effect was instant. Raynee fell to the floor and prostrated in apology. 'I was only kidding! Don't be mad. I'm sorry!' She apologised.

I take it all back: I was not ready for receiving such gestures. I pulled her up before more people could witness and misunderstand why a girl would kneel before me. I whispered imploringly to my friend, 'get up, get up. Don't do this sort of thing.'

She nodded, 'I won't poke your face again, I swear.'

'That's not what I meant. I'm fine with a poke now and then. Just don't randomly kneel to me in public. It's not proper.'

'Oh,' she muttered in understanding. 'Is it okay to do so in private then?' Scratch that, no understanding at all.

If this was anyone else, I would think she was being sarcastic. Only because this was Raynee, possibly the most innocent, naive and gullible person in existence, I knew the question was genuine. 'No, Raynee. Do not kneel to show your emotions. It is a very strong gesture and it makes people uncomfortable.'

A smile enveloped her perfect face, making me look away to not be enthralled. 'Okay. I get it. Thanks for clearing that up,' she said. Sigh. Raynee was a nice girl but that did not make her any less tiring to be around. I just patted her head, feeling like her older brother despite us being same age.

A thought clicked. I rummaged my pockets and pulled forth a ring box and tossed it to her. She caught in deftly and observed it curiously. 'Do you rembember the ring you lost? A friend of mine found it a while back. I hope you didn't miss it terribl...'

Her reply was in the form of a tight hug. 'Thank you, thank you, thank you!' She exclaimed. Ugh, way too tight. I didn't know this news would make her so happy.

Regardless of her level of joy, being in an intimate hug in the middle of the corridor was not how I wanted to be seen. 'Raynee. This hug. Too close. Not proper,' I mananged to squeeze out.

She disengaged immediately. 'Ah, sorry.' I could see she wanted to prostrate again but my previous admonishment restrained her to just bowing.

'Say, Raynee. You got some time?' I asked.

'Yes, since Ignis's gone for the break. Why do you ask?'

If I was going to babysit a girl, having another girl with me should be helpful. 'I need your help with something. Can you spare the time?'

'Sure, I can come with you. When are we leaving?' I appreciated the fact that she did not even ask what the task was.

Her question reminded me that the airship's departure was imminent. Crap. 'Right now, actually. Is that okay?'

She nodded.

'Well, let's go then,' I said. Hopefully, this trip to Vale with her would be less eventful than the last time.

-x-x-x-x-

Rain drops pettered against my coat, the water running down its waterproof surface. The grime along the road finally had the opportunity to drain to the sewers. The city of Vale always smelled better after a fresh wave of petrichor, and the difference was more pronounced in the smellier part of the city like where my home was at.

Raynee was a lot less concerned about hygiene than I expected from someone of her standing; by that I meant that she was not concerned at all. Even though her thousand lien combat dress – yeah, a combat dress; apparently such things existed – was stained grey by the unholy union of ash and rainwater, she tagged behind me gleefully, humming softly to an unknown tune. Well, if she wasn't complaining, all the better for me. In fact, she throughly enjoyed taking in the scenery on the way to my home. She was so easily distracted every step of the way and I even almost lost her once. By the time we arrived, I was reconsidering my earlier decision to bring her along.

The building I once called home had not changed at all in the last few months, at least in appearance. The corridor was still shabby, the doorknob was still drained of color and the lantern overhead was still out of order. Home sweet home. I punched in the passcode, pleasantly surprised to find it functunal, and pushed my way into my old place of residence.

Harmony was in her complete combat attire, meaning she was equipped to kill. The notion was as discomfiting to me as her weapons were. How far was she planning to go in her fight against Ccinedera? Her crusade against the organisation was based on vendetta. Vendettas got people killed. I fervently wished that she would not be so involved in the whole issue but I knew she was commited. This was her decision. I just hoped she lived through it.

'Hey Breaker. Nice to see you,' she greeted me. Her interest was not on me, however. She walked right past me and faced Raynee Miraclewish. 'Hot damn, little girl. You've got looks some girls would kill for.' She ran her fingers through the huntress's hair as she assessed every aspect of Raynee's beauty. 'You do need a bath though. Shame your dress got mud on it.' Raynee was not comfortable being scrutinized but was too polite to peel the thief off.

I pried Harmony off in her stead. 'That's rude, Harmony. Even for you.'

Harmony backed off. 'Was I? I'm terribly sorry for getting touchy-feely with your girlfriend. I know you want to reserve that right all for yourself.'

Her words planted some images into my head that are better left undescribed. My face warmed up despite myself and I retorted hastily to mask the fact. 'Sh-shut up, Harmony. Get your head out of the gutter.'

Harmony smirked mischievously. 'I don't think I'm the one who needs to get the head out of the gutter, Breaker,' she whispered.

Raynee chipped in at this point, oblivious. 'Balthazar, you are turning red. What's the matter? Are you getting sick?' She placed a hand on my forehead, and like a fool I was, I could not pull away. Harmony chuckled at the two of us and made some kissing noise.

I bit down on my cheek, knowing when to shut the hell up. I switched topics instead. 'So Harmony, where's Rebecca? Tell me where she is and get the fuck out.' As I said the words, Raynee flinched by my side. 'Raynee? What's wrong?'

'You said fu... the f-word. It's... it's not nice,' she murmured, visibly distressed. Both Harmony and I looked at her. I barely suppressed my laughter, knowing how Raynee was. Harmony, however, had no such reservations.

'You're so cute, honey. You're making me jealous of Breaker,' said Harmony, giving Raynee a peck on the cheek. 'I'll be going now, Breaker. Take good care of Rebecca, you hear? She's sleeping in her room; that's your room, by the way.' With these words, Harmony exited from the house.

Rebecca took my room? A surge of irritation briefly flared. Yes, it was childish; I no longer had a need for my room so it made sense for Rebecca to take over. Still, I could not feel delighted learning my old sanctuary was now another's domain.

A hand tapped on my shoulder, brining me out of my monologue. 'Balthazar?' It was Raynee. Ugh, I completely forgot about her for a moment there.

She still looked troubled; maybe she was still agitated by my earlier profanity. 'Ah, sorry, Raynee. I promise not to say fuc-uhm... ahem... I mean; I won't say the f-word again. Will that be okay?' Damn, now I had to watch my words around her.

Raynee, however, was concerned about something else, if her distracted state was any indication.

I waved a hand in front of her. 'Raynee? Are you okay?'

'Did she just kiss me?' she asked.

'I... what?' Well, this was unexpected.

'Isn't kissing supposed to be between a guy and a girl?' She looked really confused.

'Yes. Well, no. Not strictly. There are plenty of girl-girl coupl... ugh, you know what? Yes, a kiss is usually between a guy and a girl. Harmony is just being weird.' It was too much effort to explain everything.

'Does this mean she likes me?' Hoo boy.

'No! No. Harmony does not like you. Okay, that's wrong. She likes you but not as a lover. More like a little sister, see?'

'Are you supposed to kiss little sisters?' Oh god.

'No! You are not supposed to do that. Don't go saying that around. But sometimes, some girls who find younger kids who are cute give them a kiss on the cheek. It's nothing romantic, just another expression of affection.' Fortune be praised, it looked as if she was understanding, if her nodding gesture was any indication.

'So is it only girls? Don't guys kiss younger kids?'

'No. Guys do not kiss younger kids. It's not... it doesn't work that way.' How does she even come up with these questions?

'Not even on the cheek?'

'No. Unless they are family, or really really close friends.'

'Oh,' said Raynee. 'That sounds unfair, doesn't it?'

'I don't know about that. I guess it might be.' I was stumped by her last question since kissing younger kids was a topic I had never thought about before.

It looked like Raynee was done. She thanked me with a bow, 'thanks, Balthazar. You taught me new stuff. It's always fun hanging out with you.' She beamed at me.

Ah, Raynee. I just do not get you. Still, it was nice to see her smiling face. 'Well, we got time till Rebecca wakes up. Why don't you wash up at the bathroom? I'll get you some of Harmony's clothes.'

'But I don't wanna impose,' she said.

'And the best way to do that is to not get mud on the floor dressed in dirty clothes. Go wash up, Raynee.'

She yielded to my wisdom. 'Yes, Balthazar,' she said, sounding suspiciously like a teenager answering her naggy dad. I stared her and she just smiled innocently, before looking around. 'Uhmm. Where's the bathroom?'

'Down the corridor, second door to the right.' Following my direction, she went off.

Why did it feel as if I was taking care of Raynee, not Rebecca?

-x-x-x-x-

Fun fact: Raynee sings in the showers. Loud too. Good thing she's damn good at singing.

'Wow, I didn't know you could cook,' Raynee commented, clothed in more casual outfits donated by the generous and oblivious Harmony. Luckily Harmony liked her casual outfits loose so Raynee had no trouble putting them on despite being taller than my former partner.

I stirred the porridge, making sure it didn't burn at the bottom. 'The only things I can cook are instant ramen and porridge. I don't call that cooking,' I replied.

'Instant ramen and porridge? That's a strange combination.'

'I don't cook them together, Raynee. I just meant I know how to cook them,' I explained.

'Ohhh. Do you like porridges?'

'Not really, no. I like ramen but not porridge.'

'So why did you learn how to make them?'

'Porridge is what sick people eat. Sometimes Harmony got injured and could only consume this.' To emphasize, I swung the ladle to mix the gluey substance within the pot. I have made porridge many times in the last few years for Harmony and she had done the same for me. I briefly wondered whether Rebecca will be taking that role now.

The porridge was about done. I scooped a bowl and gave it to Raynee.

'Thanks!' she beamed.

'It's not yours. Give it to Rebecca.'

'Oh.' The disappointment on her face was plain. To placate her, I scooped another bowl. Her mood recovered immediately and she carried both bowls to my – Rebecca's – room. Cute.

I tidied up the kitchen and followed suit. Rebecca was still asleep, but barely. A person in the verge of awakening breathed differently from one that was deeply asleep. Countless home break-ins had taught me on this subject.

I ran a thermoscan with my scroll and checked the kid's temperature. It was still higher than normal but not by much margin. The worst of the fever must have broken. After eating the porridge and getting another dose of sleep, she should recover fully.

As I debated whether or not to wake her up for dinner or let her finish her slumber, Rebecca saved me the trouble by getting up on her own. Groggily she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and, with a bewildered expression, noticed us. 'Who are you?' she asked Raynee, not at all noticing the plain old mortal besides the goddess in flesh.

I must say; kids these days were way too lax. Back in my days, if I woke up in a room full of strangers, I would have panicked and bolted. Watching Rebecca confused but unalarmed made me realise just how well Harmony had cared for this child. It looked like sending her here had been the right choice.

'Hi there, Rebecca. Remember me?' I asked, making the tone as friendly as possible.

Wow, the change in her expression would have been amusing, if it wasn't directed at me. She went from bewilderment to recognition to umbrage in a blink of an eye. I guess she was not glad to see me.

'You,' she hissed, her eyes narrowed.

'Nice to see you too,' I replied nonchalantly.

'What are you doing in my room? Get out!'

Raynee, utterly blind to the situation, greeted Rebecca brightly. 'Hi, Rebecca. I'm Raynee. It's lovely to see you.' She gave the younger girl a hug.

Rebecca tried to hold onto her irritation but failed. I presume it's hard to stay mad when being hugged by someone as good-natured as Raynee. She tried to resist but a mild 'aargh, get off me big sis,' was all she managed.

Big sis? I chuckled, earning another glare from the smaller kid.

'What are you doing here?' she spat, or tried to. The effect was heavily mitigated by the cozy embrace of the rainbow-haired huntress.

'Oh, did Harmony not infrom you? We are your babysitters,' I smirked in the most aggravating way.

'You're my what?'

'I'm just as thrilled as you are about the whole development. Let's just have a nice peaceful evening among the three of us, eh? You take it easy and I will be gone before you know it,' I suggested.

In hindsight, I should have kept my damn mouth shut.

-x-x-x-x-

Rebecca took a spoonful of the porridge. 'Hey, this stuff is good. Did you make it?' She asked Raynee, taking another mouthful.

'No, Balthazar made it,' Raynee confessed, enjoying her own by the girl's bedside.

'Ugh, it's disgusting,' Rebecca stated, pushing the bowl away.

'What? You just said it was good!' I commented exasperatedly.

'No I didn't. It's yucky. I don't want it.' I hate kids.

Raynee, bless her gentle soul, coaxed the spoiled brat. 'Rebecca. Please finish the bowl with me? I don't want to eat alone,' she pleaded.

Rebecca stalled her answer, as if seriously deliberating on the issue. 'Okay. But only because of you, big sis.'

-x-x-x-x-

'Rebecca, you need to go wash up and change out of those sweaty clothes,' I instructed while doing the dishes.

'Eww, you pervert!'

'What the fu- ahem- hell are you blabbering about? Don't be an idiot and go wash up.'

'Don't talk to me, you sick freak.'

'Why is Balthazar a freak?' Raynee chimed in, genuinely curious.

'He just wants me to take off my clothes.'

Raynee gasped. 'That can't be right. Balthazar isn't such a person.'

I responded at the same time. 'I'm not trying to take off your clothes! Don't say stupid things and just go wash up!'

Rebecca clung on to my huntress friend. 'Big sis, that pedophile scares me. Don't let him drag me to the showers.'

Raynee pacified her, 'don't worry, Rebecca. Balthazar is a good person. Your fears won't happen.'

'Don't dance to her tune, Raynee,' I yelled, before addressing the younger girl, 'and you, stop your bullshit and go wash up. I'm not even old enough for the term to be applicable. Don't think I won't tranquilize you just to avoid all this trouble.'

'Waah, now he threatens to drug me! Protect me, big sis.' There was even a whimper in her voice.

'He won't drug you. Don't be scared.' Raynee soothed the kid.

'RAYNEE! Stop responding to her crap and wash her up!' My patience was truly frayed.

'Yes, Balthazar,' she replied ever happily and escorted our charge to the bathroom. The kid went with the huntress obediently, in contrast to her previous rebellious behavior towards my instructions.

Goddammit.

-x-x-x-x-

'No.' I declared for the seventh time.

'I want an ice cream,' Rebecca declared back, for the eighth time.

'You're sick. No.'

'Don't be such a wet blanket. It's just an ice cream.'

'I also don't think having an ice cream while sick is a good idea,' Raynee contributed.

'But big sis...' Rebecca whined.

'No means no, Rebecca. We don't even have any ice cream in the house. You can have some when you're healthy,' I said.

'You're no fun at all.' She pouted and stomped off.

I felt like coming down with a headache.

-x-x-x-x-

'Hey, Breaker. I wanted to ask you something,' Rebecca said sweetly. Too sweet.

I put down the soft drink I was sipping on. 'Hmm?' I responded neutrally, not knowing what to expect.

'I'm using your room, right?'

'Uhmm, yes?'

'I hope you don't mind that I took it over,' she grinned cheekily, indicating that she didn't really care whether I minded or not.

'Uh, I guess it's okay. I have no use for it anymore.' I took another sip.

'Oh, good, cuz I really love the books you left behind.'

I choked hard on the soda.

'Oh my, Breaker. Are you okay?' This little brat.

'Cough, cough. I'm... cough... I'm okay.' She smirked the way Harmony usually smirked, and that was not good news at all.

'I really love one of your books. What was it? "Ninjas of Love"? A lovely book, although I could never have guessed that you had such tastes.'

'That was something Harmony bought; her idea of a joke,' I defended, omitting the fact that I have read the book regardless. That was something Rebecca did not need to know.

'But its genre matches the rest of your collection. Harmony has good eye. What of "Soulmates Pte Ltd."? That was good as well.'

'Hey, that's a comedy.' I actually liked that book.

'A comedy centred around romance. I didn't know boys like such genres as well.'

'Well, it's a great read.'

Rebecca nodded. 'Yes, it is. I just didn't know you would have such tastes. And then there's the "Misery. Love. Company.". Actually, I wanted to ask you about this book.'

I tensed up once I heard the name. I did not want to talk about "Misery. Love. Company." with anyone, least of all with a twelve-year-old girl. 'You actually read that?' Fortune strike me now; end my misery, please.

'I thought I would give it a go but its contents were so... _intense._ Maybe you would like to read it with me? Explain to me what's going on?' I would rather get mauled by a pack of beowolves than read that book with her – or anyone, for that matter.

'I am not reading that book with you, Rebecca,' I said through gritted teeth.

'Aww, but I really don't understand the book at all, Breaker. Please help?'

'No.'

'Can I help?' Raynee chimed in, to my chagrin.

Rebecca jumped on the opportunity. 'Yes, please!'

'No!' I shouted, making the two girls jump. Raynee was the last person I wanted to peruse the book.

'Balthazar?' Raynee was perplexed.

Think fast, Balthazar. 'Uhmm... What about a game of cards instead? Let's do something all of us can participate.'

'But Rebecca wants to read that book.'

'No she doesn't. Do you Rebecca?' If looks could kill, I would have commited homicide.

Rebecca smiled at Raynee. 'I would love to read the book with you, big sis.' This little motherf...

I clamped down on my anger. 'But that would leave me with nothing to do. Why don't we play games together, Rebecca? Please?'

'Aww, alright. Only because you asked so nicely, Breaker.'

I really hate kids.

-x-x-x-x-

'Alright, that's my win,' I announced, putting down my cards onto the table. As the two girls compared my hand to theirs, I gathered up the chips in the pool. There was no way their hands could win mine; my pocket ace gave me a full house. Once they accepted their defeat, they looked at me expectantly, waiting for me to deal the cards. I shook my head, 'time to sleep, Rebecca.'

'What? Sleep? Why?' she asked, dismayed.

'Because it's fourteen past twelve? It's way past your bed time, girl.'

'But I just woke up few hours ago. I'm not sleepy.'

'No. Go sleep. You are still recovering. Act accordingly.'

'Aww, big sis...' Rebecca implored to the huntress instead, putting on a cute face. Raynee wavered under such gaze and looked at me to petition for Rebecca's cause.

Before she could speak, I cut in, 'no. She sleeps now.' Her mouth closed without uttering a word.

Rebecca saw her champion's will crumble and knew her defeat was inexorable. She shot me dagger. 'I'm not going to sleep. Don't force me!' she shouted.

I hate kids so much. 'Look here, you little gnat. Maybe you didn't get the memo but I'm not here to attend to your wants. I am here because Harmony knew you could not be by yourself. You're sick and I'm here to make sure you get better. What I'm not here for is to deal with your idiocy which you have been sending my way the whole blasted day. Now go to your room and do as you're told or Fortune help me, I will make good on that offer with the tranquilizers.'

Rebecca glared at me in silence. Just for a second, I thought I saw her eyes glisten. Before I could confirm what I believed to have seen, she stomped into her room, shutting the door with a bang.

Raynee and I just sat there for awhile, neither of us really having anything to say. Well, I didn't. A moment later though, Raynee did mutter, 'that was mean, Balthazar.' To hear Raynee say that, to reprimand me so directly, made me realize the full scope of my action.

She was right, of course.

-x-x-x-x-

For the last twenty minutes, I had been combing through the rest of the house to see if anything has changed. Other than my room, it looked as though the safehouse had remained mostly the same. A thought that the thing that changed the most in this safehouse was myself occurred to me.

Introspective thoughts. It always meant I was internally troubled.

The reason for my mental unrest was Rebecca, of course. Even I had to admit I had been too harsh on her.

I am not a short-tempered guy by any means but for some reason, when it came to her, my fuse was as short as Yang's. No offense, Yang.

Why?

Did I dislike Rebecca? Not in the least, despite my repetition of not liking kids. In fact, I was glad she had the wits and poise to put me in a spot multiple times; she possessed the will to stand her ground and that was important for a marketwoman. She was cute in a thorny way and would grow to be an admirable woman with enough nurturing from Harmony.

So what was wrong with me? Why did I get so wound up when interacting with her?

I did wish her all the best, to escape the childhood that I had never managed to evade. Having seen her today, I knew I had succeeded in that regard. She would never have to go through the moments of hunger, of weakness that came with days of missing meals, of being preyed upon by the less humane individuals in the darker part of the undermarket. Thing that I had to go through when I was younger than her...

Fortune blast it. I was envious of her. Envious of her never having to go through what I did.

Even by my standards, that was messed up. Nobody should go through what I had, not even me, especially not her. To resent her for not going through what I did was shameful. What was wrong with me?

As I was engaging in mental self-rebuke, there was a knock on the door. 'Come in.'

It was Raynee. 'Balthazar. There's a problem.' By her expression, it was a big problem.

'What's wrong?'

'I just came from Rebecca's room. She's not there.'

Oh, she's not ther... wait what? 'What did you say?' My introspective mood was all gone now, replaced by the more familiar everyday annoyance.

'I went to cheer her up after the scolding but she wasn't in her room.'

'Was the window open?'

'Huh? Ah, yes. The window was open.'

For Remnant's sake, Rebecca. Why can't you make this easy?

-x-x-x-x-

So how surprised was I that Harmony had a tracker embeded into some of Rebecca's belonging? Well, let me put it this way; the answer is comprised of three words and it contained the words "not", "very" and "much". In that order.

Seriously, after all this was over, Harmony and I would have to have a conversation about this; she still had no regard for other people's privacy.

Before that serious conversation though, I needed one with Rebecca. Whatever the case it may be, exiting the seventh storey apartment complex via the window was not acceptable.

Right now, Raynee and I were outside in the rain, beelining towards the tracking signal.

'How far is she?' Raynee asked for the umpteenth time. She was excessively distraught about the whole situation. Perhaps she thought Rebecca's running away as her own fault? I could not imagine why; clearly Rebecca and I were more responisible about this development than she was.

'About a quarter klick left. Should be seeing her in a few minutes.'

'Click?' Confusion framed her reply.

Right, no slangs. 'Kilometre. She's close by.'

'Oh good. I'm so worried. Do you think she's okay?'

'She's not exactly a fragile pottery, you know.'

She bit her lower lip. 'I... I know that! It's just that when I think about her being all alone in this city, I think...' she trailed off. To Raynee, desolation in this large city was the scariest thing she could imagine. Now I could comprehend her distress slightly.

'It's okay, Raynee. She's not in any danger. See? We are almost at her location.' I showed her the map on my scroll displaying the two pinpoints on the screen; our and Rebecca's respective positions. The two dots were close enough to touch. 'According to this, Rebecca should be just around this corner.'

Things are never that simple.

Indeed she was, but not alone. The moment I turned the corner, I spotted Rebecca being backed to a wall by three menacing figures. I clamped my hand down on Raynee behind me and gestured at her to halt; these guys were trouble. Raynee noticed the cause for our pause and sported a concerned expression. She was dying to dive in and rescue the girl from the deliquents but I delayed her.

The trio looked no older than me, although my small physique does make me look younger than my peers. All of them were in battle gears, one of them even in a power armor. The one looming closest to Rebecca had numerous firearms on his belt, some semiautomatic while others full-auto. The last guy in the back was a swordsman. He did not seemed too invested in threatening the young girl.

We were close enough to hear the conversation, although all that did was piss me off. The gunslinger was the most vocal of the group, his high pitch tone annoying to hear. His words lacerated the night air like shards of glass and were about as pleasurable to listen to. The armored guy contributed a few threats here and there.

It took me a moment to ascertain that they were inebriated – or at least the two vocal ones were – and that they were extorting apology from the girl for some reason. Well, if that was not pathetic, I didn't know what was. Picking fights with a kid younger than them was not excusable – even if they were not that old themselves.

Time to rescue the kid. 'Raynee. Get hold of Rebecca when I start talking. Don't attack them no matter what.' Last thing I needed was a huntress cadet blowing a bunch guys my age. Hopefully, this wouldn't degenerate into a fight.

When approaching a group of people that could potentially turn hostile, the most important thing is to read the group's mood. Are they easily provoked? Are they the type to respond aggressively to feigned weakness or will they not bother with weaker targets? Years of learning to avoid fights really helped me sense these sort of things.

'So what seems to be the problem, gentlemen?' I asked, keeping my tone crisp.

'Who's this freak?' the gunslinger muttered. Classy, this new friend of mine.

The tincan wolfwhistled. His voice was gravel, slurring due to his intoxication. 'Hey, check out the girl. She's a bombshell.' The gunman checked Raynee out following the comment, appreciating what he saw. The third guy did not react at all, simply observing us from the start.

Although they were bigger than me in size – especially the armored fellow – I got a vibe that they were in fact younger; perhaps it was their lack of self-control. They were definitely drunk in varying degrees, even the most composed sword-wielder. One look at their equipment informed me that these were customized gears. A sneaking suspicion came over me; there was a good possibility that these three were Signal students.

If that was true, I certainly did not want to fight. I was no match for Signal students. 'We are just here to pick up my sister,' I gestured to Rebecca, 'I hope you don't mind if we got going.'

'Hold it there. We got a score to settle with that kid over there so why don't you fuck off?' The whiny tone was really getting to me.

'Hey don't say that, I want the rainbow hair to stick around,' his friend commented.

'Yeah, the bimbo can stay.' The first idiot amended.

Thinking back, I should not have started the fight. I may not have the nicest of personalities but I certainly was not a person who liked to get violent. Today though, I was already close to the edge as I could be. Hearing them going about insulting my friends was not in the scope of things I could tolerate. The last coherent thought that passed through my head before the situation exploded was: they have aura so I can do whatever I want.

Needless to say, I was very upset.

I lunged forward with two knives in my left hand and a grenade in my right. I whirled one of the knives in the general direction of the gunslinger. It was not going to pierce his auric defence but that was not its intent. That was just a distraction.

My goal was the bigger one. He looked to be the bigger threat and, therefore, worth expanding my element of surprise on. I tossed the cooked grenade at the armored boy. The electric-nade detonated and engulfed the big guy in a shower of mini-lightnings.

Had these guys been common rabble, the gunslinger would have been distracted by the spectacle by his side, giving me another opportunity to strike. It looked as if my suspicion regarding his educational background was validated because the gunslinger barely wasted a moment before bringing up his weapons.

It was truly serendipitious for me that we were fighting in such close quarters and he was using firearms. He managed to only get three bullets off his semiautomatic – which were blocked by my own aura, although they still stung greatly – before I got my hand on it. A spark of semblance of later, the gun jammed right in his hand.

'What the...?' he managed before I transferred my grip on his gun to his hand. I pulled the guy closer to me and decked him right in the chin. His head snapped back, giving me an opportunity to lay my hands on the rest of his weapons. I did not have time to fine-tune my semblance so made for quality with quantity. He would probably need to disassemble his guns and repair them from scratch later.

A hand clenched down on mine, letting me know I was in deep trouble. A knee introduced itself to my abdomen, leaving behind a strong impression. It knocked some breath out of my lungs but, honestly, this was not the hardest blow I have taken – Alex had seen to that. I suppressed the waves of pain and pulled a thin syringe out of my vambrace, something I had not used in a really long time.

You see, even before Beacon, I have fought against huntsmen. They all had aura and I did not carry enough weapons to go past all that. After one particularly nasty incident in a con job, I dedicated some effort to learn about overcoming such defenses. There were two solutions I found.

One is to overwhelm the huntsman with a constant source of damage. A flamethrower is a good example. You can constantly inflict damage and whittle down his auric reserve swiftly in this manner. My electric-nade achieved the exact same thing.

The other method was tranquilizers. Aura heals damage but does not neutralize toxic substances as efficiently. Huntsmen are more resistant to the stuff, yes, but they were not immune. The syringe I always kept in my vambrace holster was extremely potent and something I never went without.

I slammed the needle into his thighs just as he pulled out another weapon, unaware it was defective. He pulled the trigger a couple times, glanced in confusion at the limp weapon and crumpled to the ground as the chemical took hold of his system.

I pried his unconscious body off me, groaning as my stomach protested having to move after the earlier introduction. It was at this moment a fist decided it was a good time to introduce itself to my face. I fell to my knees, my vision blurry. I could barely manage to make out the armored sollerets in front of me.

Curses, looks like the electric-nade did not succeed taking out the oaf. Just one time, Fortune. Was that too hard?

A grunt overhead made me roll away, just before the fist smashed into my previous spot. I jumped back up as soon as I could and swayed from the exertion; the punch had destablized me more than I thought. An uppercut slammed into my chest, and although the leather armor did its best, the force of the blow disoriented me to kingdom come.

When self-preservation comes into play, I do not play nice. I opened fire with Fiasco right into the brute's thigh – although I was actually aiming for his arm. My standard ammunition cut into his flesh easily, letting me know my electric-nade had at least accomplished something. The guy's outcry filled the air, clearing my mind a little. He was panicking; my chance was now.

Alex's training ran through my mind. When facing an opponent much bigger than me, be it human or Grimm, one tactic was to immobilize their limbs. Gravity was an impartial tax collector and she levied her tolls accordingly. To be big was to be strong, but it was also to be weighed down if that strength was taken away. Aim the joints: ankles, knees, elbows and shoulders, ideally in that order. Aim the sensors that contribute to balance: eyes, eardrums, nerve centres such as the base of the skull.

Fiasco fired a shot at the guy's foot, penetrating the relatively thin armor. As he shuffled to get weight off his injured leg, I rammed the butt of my revolver into the back of his knee, causing him to get on all fours. A kick to an elbow had him plant his face to the mud-coated asphalt. I whipped my revolver into the exposed back of his skull, one of the few unprotected part of his body. The big guy collapsed, out for the count.

The adrenaline pumping through my system slowly ebbed as I glanced down at my defeated opponent. The hotspots of pain began reporting to my brain, letting me know I was not in a good shape. It was going to be a while before aura patched up all my injur...

A white-hot searing line of pain across my back.

Only instinct saved me from the next slash, as I rolled away from the direction the pain came from. The movement cost me more than it should have and I found myself completely immobile.

The swordsman was not letting me off the hook. His footsteps echoed through the ground I was lying on. I gazed up, seeing the moonlight glisten aginst the raindrops coating his blade. He raised his weapon, ready to stab down...

And a glacier wall rushed and pinned him against the wall several metres away. The swordman instantly fainted from the blow, hanging like a pinned insect in a casing. That was going to leave a bruise.

Not that I was in any better condition. I could feel the sword wound was a bit deeper than I would have like – though, to be fair, I would have liked no injury at all so it wasn't saying much. Two pairs of feet appeared in my field of vision: a nightwear and a casualwear, both soaked in rain. I tried to look up but found I couldn't; I really needed the first aid in the safehouse.

'Balthazar, Balthazar! You're bleeding so bad!' That was the melodious tone of Raynee, although it was heavily strained with distress.

'We need to get him to a hospital! Don't die, Breaker!' Aww, Rebecca was crying. I didn't know she cared so much.

In the back of my mind, the analytical part of me was telling rest of my brain that I was seriously in the danger of dying if I did not get treatment soon. I could see the pool of blood under me; I should have been frightened by the amount but oddly enough, I wasn't. My mind was turn to a mush, meaning I was close to fainting. The pain was actually fading now, registering less and less.

I could actually die.

A pair of hands grabbed my face. A face appeared right before my eyes and it was the loveliest thing I had ever seen. Flawless skin, as if made from porcelain. Eyes that seemed to have carved out of the stars. The lips that was so luscious. The face was perfect, as if designed.

Mother Nature never designs.

'Balthazar! Can you hear me?' I heard words.

Yeah, I can hear you. I wanted to tell the face I could. But I couldn't so I simply nodded once.

'Listen to me completely. Okay?' I wanted to nod again but that was not possible anymore.

She spoke again, but the voice was not hers. Well, it was still her voice but it was also different. It was something more.

_**'Listen here, listen well.**_

_**Let me sing of your pain.**_

_**Wound's a lie, pain's a phantom,**_

_**none of them remain.'**_

Ah, she was singing. It was a lovely song; rather short but still lovely. She repeated it a few times and the lyrics penetrated the haze surrounding my mind. Listen here, listen well. Let her sing of my pain. Wound's a lie, pain's a phantom, none of them remain. Listen here, listen well. Let her sing of my pain. Wound's a lie, pain's a phantom, none of them remain. Hey, maybe it was working, It did feel as if my pain was disappearing.

No, wait a minute. It _was _disappearing.

My body did not hurt any more. My stomach did not ache from the knee-kick. My chest did not throb from the punch. My back did not sear with agony. My mind was not impaired. I was completely healed.

'It worked!' Raynee hugged me. A couple seconds later, Rebecca followed suit, hugging tight onto the other side. I barely had the presence of mind to hug them back. What in the world just happened?

'Raynee? What just happened?' As grateful I was to be alive, my rational mind was heavily disturbed by this unnatural sequence of events.

A strained expression came on her face. 'It's... uhm... it's my semblance.' It was clear she did not want to talk about it anymore.

'Breaker, are you okay? Rebecca asked, bawling her eyes out. I wanted to dog Raynee more on what had transpired but now was not the time. I would have to get to the bottom of this later.

I patted on the younger girl's back. 'I'm fine, Rebecca. Don't cry.'

'You almost died, Breaker. I'm so sorry!' She was sobbing nonstop.

'No, no. I'm fine now. Raynee saw to it. Right, Raynee?' Even though I had no idea how.

Rebecca's breakdown was weighing down on the huntress as well. 'Rebecca, don't cry. Balthazar's going to be alright.'

'It's all my fault! I shouldn't have escaped to get some ice cream. I wanted to tell you how thankful I was for getting me off the street but all I do is get you mad. I'm so sorry, Breaker. I'm very sorry.'

Oh. Well. I didn't know she thought of me that way. I thought she was genuinely ticked that I tricked her. 'That's okay Rebecca. I'm not mad.'

'But I was such a bitch the whole day,' Rebecca announced, making Raynee flinch. I almost did too; I should have known Harmony's apprentice would not mince words.

'Well, I wasn't nice either. Don't beat yourself over that. I'm just glad you're safe.' She seemed to have calmed down, giving me a moment to look around. The trio of hoodlums were still out cold but I wanted to get away from here regardless. 'Let's get out of here.'

The girls nodded eagerly, sharing my sentiment.

-x-x-x-x-

'Hey Rebecca. Why am I carrying you?'

'That's because she's sick and you aren't, Balthazar.'

'Thanks, Raynee, but I was asking Rebecca.'

'It's past my bed time. I need to be sleeping.'

'Why you ungrateful little...'

'Breaker? Can I ask you something?'

'Sigh. What is it?'

'Why does big sis call you Balthazar?'

'That's because that's his name.'

'Yeah, that's my name.'

'Oh... Can I call you Balthazar?'

'I guess. Sure.'

'Mmm, Good night, Balthazar. Good night, big sis Raynee.'

'...'

'Raynee?'

'Uhm... Did she just kiss me?'

'Yeah, Balthazar told me that's what I should be doing.'

'Raynee, that was not what I meant. And it should have been on her cheek.'

'What sort of things do you tell big sis, Balthazar?'

'Shut up you little twerp. Go to sleep!'

'That's not very nice, Balthazar.'

'Raynee, not you too.'

-x-x-x-x-

**A/N: Yes, another filler chapter. I'm sorry. **

**The next chapter will be the main arc for the semester break. I did consider not doing this chapter at all and opt for going straight for major plot arc but I wanted to put Rebecca and Raynee out and honestly this was the only opportunity.**

**Along with working on the next chpt, I will be brushing up on the first five chapters of Balthazar of the BLAC. The plot will be exactly the same. I will only be touching on the likes of linguistic style. I feel that these earlier chapter are a bit inferior in diction and want to remedy that. Personally, chpt 6 is where my improvements really began and I want to make my earlier chapters to at least that standard.**

**I have been reading other RWBY fics and was really impressed with some of them. Do any of you have favorites? I'm curious to see what sort of preferrences other people have.**

**That's all for now, folks. Cheerio.**

**Edit: I shifted the some texts in middle to align to left. Felt weird seeing them in mid.**


	21. Chapter 21: Price Borne by Others: pt 1

**DISCLAIMER: Those that ought to belong to others shall belong to their respective owners. Those that ought to belong to me, if any, shall belong to me.**

**A/N: After the longest time, I have returned. The A/N at the end will have more comments about my absence. For now, enjoy the part 1 of the next arc.**

-x-x-x-x-

Price Borne by Others: part 1

One of the side effects of almost dying is a strong desire to not experience it again.

My last trip to Vale with Raynee had been the closest brush with the Reaper I have ever had, and the rational part of my mind told me that it probably would not be my last. Which was why I was actually in the training gym on my accord, getting my ass kicked by pretty much everyone I trained with. It was not fun to simultaneously be in an academy full of warriors and at the bottom of the rung in the said group.

The butt of a spear rammed into my abdomen, not at all deterred by my leather cuirass. The pain caused me to bend over, bringing my head closer to the said spear butt. A swift whack to the side of my skull had me on the floor.

Sigh. The floor and I were getting rather intimate today.

A hand offered itself. I grabbed onto it and pulled myself off the ground, groaning as my tender muscles protested the movement.

'I'm sorry. I might have gone overboard,' my sparring partner apologised. A quick glance at Yeon told me she was genuinely apologetic about whooping my ass to kingdom come. Well that was a nice change; Alex and Lestia were never really ones for compassion.

I waved her apology away. 'No, no. It's not you. I'm the one that's weak.'

A footstep approached us but I was too tired to turn my head and see who. A moment later, a bottle of water appeared in front of me. Gratefully, I accepted this charity and started chugging down the content. My savior moved onto the huntress and handed her an uncapped bottle.

'Thank you, Vergil,' said Yeon.

Having been hydrated, my brain resumed higher functions and began to analyze this Vergil. He was an unassuming figure, to say the least. His combat attire was a light and simple leather armor, bare in decoration. In fact, one might even describe his attire as sloppy; he gave off the vibe of a man who did not care for his appearance. He had a lithe physique that made me think of Lestia, although he was not as short.

Intriguingly, there was a compound bow on his back that was absolutely gargantuan. Now I'm no bowman but I was pretty darn sure a bow of that size needed way more strength to draw than what Vergil's physique should offer. Ah well, what did I know about archery? If he was carrying the weapon around, it must mean he could use it.

All in all, he looked to be a normal huntsman cadet – although perhaps the phrase "normal huntsman cadet" was an oxymoron.

Vergil smiled at Yeon. 'Nice going, chap. You successfully demolished this poor huntsman here. Absolutely murdered. Must be all that extra training you throw at yourself showing effect yeah?'

Yeon scowled, 'Vergil. He can hear you.'

Vergil was not chided one bit. 'Oh he's fine. Doesn't kiss his own ass, this one. Pride made of sterner stuff than looking tough in a fight.'

I raised an eyebrow. Interesting character, this Vergil. 'Hello. The name's Balthazar,' I introduced myself.

A glimpse of recognition. 'Ah. Raynee's crush, is he?' He looked at Yeon for confirmation.

Yeon was exasperated. 'He is not Raynee's crush, Vergil. Just her good friend. You know Raynee. If she had a crush, she would have just told us.'

Vergil shrugged. 'That's assuming Raynee can distinguish between romance and friendship. Frankly, my lien's on the side that she can't.' He turned to me. 'Either way, it's good to see you finally, mate. I'm Vergil Cannes, serving as V in IVRY. Thanks for making Raynee keep us up at night with all her stories.' Vergil must be Yeon's partner, since I knew Raynee's partner was named Ignis.

I grinned at his tone. 'Glad to help,' I replied.

Yeon was mortified. 'Vergil. Could you please not embarrass us?'

I chuckled at the whole scene. Or I was chuckling until Vergil reached out and kissed Yeon right on the lips, in full view of everyone in the training area. Then I was more flabbergasted than chuckling after that.

'How's that for embarrassing us?' Vergil smirked.

'You stupid little...' Yeon raised her kuda yari and did her best to impale her antagonizer. Vergil sidestepped her spear nimbly – something told me he did this often – and jumped out of its range, not admonished at all. He walked off laughing, likely keeping distance until it was safe to return. Yeon considered chasing after him but opted to restrain herself. 'Sorry you had to see that,' she said to me. She gestured towards the locker room, indicating we should leave the gym. I followed.

'I see you and your partner are very... close,' I commented, not knowing what else to say.

'Well, given that we're dating, it would be weird if we weren't,' Yeon replied.

Oh. Dating. Right. Of course they wouldn't be kissing about if they were merely partners. What was I thinking? 'He must really like you if he behaves like this.'

'He only does it to embarrass me.' She pulled open her locker and pulled out her weapon kit. 'Most of the time, he's really lazy. Hates moving a finger for anything he doesn't want to do, that Vergil. But he's really smart and observant, which is possibly the worst combination you can find in a boyfriend, if you ask me.'

'Or a spy,' I supplemented.

'Or that,' she concurred. 'Honestly? Vergil has so much more potential; more than most. If he actually bothered to work to his limits, he would be among the top of the cohort. Instead, he decides to flourish in mediocrity, maintaining around my level.'

'Sounds like you are selling yourself short.'

'No, I'm not. I have been training among huntsmen since I was a child; since birth, in fact. I know a better huntsman when I come across one.'

Well, if she insisted, I was not going to disagree. A change in topic was in order. 'Must be nice though, being in a relationship.'

'If you're jealous, maybe you should get a girl yourself. Then you'll learn it's not all rose petals and rainbows. Is there any girl you're interested in?' Bloody hell. Of all the possible changes in topic, this one was the worst.

'I really should have seen that coming, didn't I?' I replied as I opened my own locker and searched for the extra throwing knives I knew I kept around here somewhere. A few of the knives needed to be replaced and repaired later.

'Don't avoid the question, Balthazar. Is there anyone?'

'I would like to exercise my right to remain silent from this point.' I hated this kind of questions.

Yeon seemed pleased at my answer for reason. 'So there is someone,' she said. 'Who is it? Is she in this school?'

'Yeon, you're getting ahead of yourself,' I muttered, flustered.

A third voice entered the conversation. 'you are making our new friend anxious, petals.' He approached us nonchalantly.

'Vergil, you stupid oaf. You kissed me in front of everyone! Do you know how embarrassed I was?'

'Ah, Yeon. That was not even the worst thing I've done to you.' Vergil ran his hand through his girlfriend's hair before she slapped it away with a frown.

'I hate you so much sometimes,' she muttered bitterly. Whew, it looked like she was not going to pursue her previous train of thought.

'Well, you loved me enough to ask me out,' he retorted back.

'Would you stop mentioning that? Seriously. You always bring that up whenev...'

Woah. If there ever was a sign to be elsewhere, this was most certainly it. I stepped away from the bickering couple – who were completely unaware of my retreat – until I was far away enough to tune out their conversation. I'll just hang around here until they started talking about something else or began to fight in earnest – whichever came first – then rejoin them or leave them alone accordingly.

Well, that was my initial plan but a particular news broadcast on the wall monitor caught my eye.

'...olice Department has once more cordoned off a section in industrial district after finding another body in one of the streets. This is the fourth body found in the last fifty days, according to our sources. All four deceased have been confirmed to have been orphans living in the streets. Initially, a serial killing was suspected, however, the visible lack of foul play on the victims' bodies now give rise to a possibility of an epidemic circulating among the homeless children.

'The Vale Police Department has released no official statement as of yet, except to urge the citizens of Vale not to panic from groundless rumors. Many voices are gathering among the citizens of Vale, who still remember the catastrophic epidemic outbreak twelve years back, to say Pygmalion Foundation should become involved with the issue. Let's switch over to Report Emily Jesse, who is currently in Pygmalion Foundation's Vale headquarters.'

Bullshit. An epidemic? No way. Ever since the last outbreak, Pygmalion Foundation made sure the orphan population of Vale were contagion free. I trusted Pygmalion Foundation to properly do their work more than I trusted the Vale Police Department to let criminals get away – meaning my trust in Pygmalion Foundation's efficiency was considerable. If there had been four children dead in the streets, my money was on the cause being a person, not some microorganisms. what could possibly be goin...

'Balthazar. Mate? You okay? You're face when from irritated to serious in a blink,' Vergil asked, clapping me on the back; I was not even aware he and Yeon had approached me.

I must have had quite the look on my face because he was looking at me as if I was about to shoot his head off – don't ask me how I knew what the expression looked like.

'I... I'm fine. I just have somewhere to go.' I opened my locker and pulled out as much equipment as I could carry from my locker. If the thing killing the children was indeed some_one,_ I was going to need some teeth.

Vergil was intrigued. 'Well, with the amount of explosives you're grabbing, you can't be going there for pleasure.'

'Balthazar; what's wrong?' Yeon inquired, worried. Whether her concern was for me or for whoever I intended to lob these explosives at, I did not know.

'It's a personal affair.' I brushed her question aside.

'It also has something to do with the street orphans in the industrial district,' Vergil supplemented. I glared at him, to which he simply smiled back. Perceptive, this Yeon's boyfriend.

Yeon looked confused. 'I don't get it.'

'There was news of a child being found dead in the city. Clearly, Balthazar is not happy to hear that,' Vergil clarified.

'Look, I just need to get to the bottom of this, okay? This is important to me.'

'We're coming with you,' Yeon declared.

'You are?' I asked.

'We are?' Vergil echoed.

'Yes. If you are packing that much firepower, that means you're considering trouble. I'm not letting you go alone.'

The idea of bringing others along did not appeal at all but if there was one thing I learned in this muleheaded academy, it was that nobody heeded my opinion when they interfered into my business. It was as if the basic concept such as privacy simply ceased to exist within the ground of this institution. As such, I did the smart thing and decided to accept my fate in the interest of saving time.

Although it was probably a pointless gesture, I tried to salvage the upcoming crappy situation. 'If you tag along, I am in charge. When I give an instruction, you have to act on it. If you can't agree to this, then do not come along.' The last thing I wanted was two regular people making decisions as they waded through the undermarket blind.

Yeon nodded, agreeing to my condition. Vergil was more hesitant, however, causing a frown on his girlfriend's face. A swift kick to a shin later, he followed his girlfriend's gesture.

I sighed. 'Let's get going then. I want to go check the scene as soon as possible.' I latched the last of my equipment onto the utility belt. We left the locker room and made our way for the airship to Vale.

Never a private business I can attend alone.

-x-x-x-x-

Some days, I really hated this city.

I looked around the grimy street cordoned off with the police tape and a thought occurred to me that this was no place for a child to die. It's not like there was a good place for a child to die, sure, but there had to be better places than this. To be dead on the dirty pavement of the industrial district barely after having lived around a decade was not a sort of thing that should be allowed to happen to anyone.

A crowd had gathered just outside the boundary, peeking at the few policemen still lingering about the scene as if this was a show. How many were gathered because they were saddened about the children? No, this was just a distraction for them, a juicy incident to be discussed over at dinner.

Only two officers were in the area; the investigation at scene must have been finished. These two were like just rookies charged with guarding the area, so it was highly unlikely that they knew anything of relevance. It would be more informative to observe the scene myself.

'So Balthazar, what are we doing here?' Yeon asked.

'We're trying to see if we can find out what happened here.'

'Yes, we did listen to your quasi-briefing in the airship, Balthazar,' Vergil chimed in, 'I think her question was more to find out the specifics of this finding out what happened here business.'

'Uhmm, that's still a work in progress.' I did have an idea but it was chancy at best. I gestured at the two hunters to follow and we marched right up to the closest officer on duty.

The policeman straightened his slouch as we approached. He reinforced his voice before speaking, as to muster some veneer of authority. 'This way is closed, kids. Police investigation in place. You should go home now.' He must be new.

Well, that was good news for me. I gave him a tiny nod and a friendly smile in a way of a greeting. 'Officer, good to see you. We are huntsmen from Beacon. Do you mind if we took a look around?' Beacon cadets had no authority over police, of course; that was a common misconception.

Hopefully, it was a common misconception shared by the rookie policemen. 'Uhh... I didn't receive any news about this from HQ,' he stammered. He turned to his companion. 'Hey, Rob! Was there any word from base about huntsmen coming to scene?'

'No clue, Randall.' Rob came over, more to escape the boredom than being interested in the conversation. 'If they didn't tell you about it, there's no way they'll tell me. You're the corporal here; I'm just a private.'

'Well, we got a few huntsmen here, saying they would like to inspect the place.' Randall explained to his colleague.

'A living, breathing huntsman? Ought to write about this in my diary,' Rob deadpanned, 'so what team are they from?'

'We're from Team VYBE. I'm Balthazar, and this is Yeon and Vergil,' I lied through my teeth.

Rob gave us a look over. 'They certainly are dressed for the part,' he said, referring to our weapons.

'So what should we do?' Randall asked.

'Up to you, Rand. We could call HQ about this but honestly, it's not a big deal if they get a peek. We're not even sure if this is a crime scene.'

Randall agreed. 'You're right,' he turned to me, 'very well, sirs, ma'am. You can take a look around. Please do not touch anything.'

Rob also had something to say, and his tone was all serious as he said it, 'additionally, we're not permitted to diverge any information regarding this situation without HQ say so, even if you're huntsmen. Please do not ask any questions and leave swiftly after your look-see. Well then. Have a nice day.' Rob walked off, returning to his post now that the conversation was over. Randall took cue from his partner and went off as well, leaving the scene open for our inspection.

That went easier than I expected. Honestly, I did not expect this plan to work as well as it did. The three of us approached the chalk outline at the centre of the taped box.

'I can't believe you actually pulled that off,' Yeon exclaimed, impressed.

'Yeah, me neither,' I replied, relieved.

Vergil was not as awed as his partner though. 'Say, Balthazar. I couldn't help but notice you're darn good at lying. Team VYBE? Almost believed it myself.'

'Vergil!' Yeon hissed.

'What? I say as I see it,' Vergil shrugged, 'I don't claim to be an expert on the subject but I know a fair bit about lying. A concrete lie needs smarts. A quick lie needs practice. That was a mighty quick lie.'

'Vergil, you're crossing a line,' Yeon hissed.

I waved her aggravation away. 'No, no. He's right. I would have been suspicious in his shoes too.'

'I know he's right, Balthazar,' she retorted, 'but there are less rude ways to bring up the topic.' Ouch. Lying might have let gotten me the way in but it clearly has not won me any trust. Sigh. Of course it wouldn't. After all, Yeon and I have not known each other for long, and Vergil and I were acquainted only today.

It looked like I had two more people to come clean about my past. If anything was going to win their trust, it was a confession about my shady old days. 'I'll answer any questions you have later. Can we please examine here first?' Funny, the notion was not as daunting as it had been a few weeks back.

'Well, I love a promise of a good story,' Vergil muttered.

'Oh shut up, Vergil. He said he'll explain later,' Yeon chided. 'So what are we looking for, Balthazar?'

'Any signs to think there were other people involved with the kid's death. The news said the kid died of disease. I call bullshit on that.'

'So you think it's murder?'

'I'm hoping it's not,' I answered, 'But yes, I think it's murder.'

-x-x-x-x-

Honestly, there wasn't much here to go on. The place was a typical example of a Vale's industrial area, minus the chalk outline of far too a small person. There were no blood splatters or any other signs to indicate intentional harm fell upon the dead child. Just a dead body in the middle of a street. I scanned the outline again, irrationally hoping a clue would jump at me if I continued to stare.

Why was he in the middle of a street though? Would the sick kid walk to the middle of the street before dying? Maybe the pain struck suddenly and caused him to wander around, seeking help. No, that might be plausible if this was in residential area. In industrial district, people were sparse and not always nice. A street kid with quarter a brain would not have loitered here.

Of course, there was always a possibility of the kid dying elsewhere and being dumped here by somebody else. If this body was put here by someone else, all I had to do was to track down that person and it should shed more light on how this child died. Now, all I needed was a proof that there really was someone else...

'Hey, Balthazar. Take a look at this,' Vergil pointed to a spot on the ground. I wandered over. It was a slight imprint of a boot.

'A boot?' Yeon muttered incredulously, 'So what? This is a street. Why is the footprint so special?' Her words were true; there were various shoe-imprints all around us.

'Well, this one smells,' Vergil answered.

'Smells?' I reiterated.

Vergil nodded. 'It's faint but nasty; a bit like something dying.' I kneeled down and sniffed at the said bootprint. Ugh, yuck. Yep, I knew this smell alright. This was the all too familiar smell of Vale sewage. From the strength of the odor, I was pretty sure it was fresh – if sewage smell can be described as such.

'And?' Yeon asked.

'And that means somebody came out of the sewers.' Harmony always said there were no coincidences when it came to dead people. If somebody came out of the sewer around here where the dead child was found, I was willing to gamble that these two were somehow related.

Vergil voiced out my thoughts, and added a bit of his own. 'Aight, can't imagine how someone coming out of the sewers and a dead kid being randomly found isn't connected. But that's about all we can find, no?' He scratched the side of his head. 'There's no way to identify who this footprint belongs to, unless another clue drops on top of us out of nowhere.'

I agreed with him. This crime scene had no more to offer than the possibility that another person was involved with the kid's death. If I wanted to track this mysterious sewage dweller, I would need to try something else.

'So what are we going to do?' Yeon asked.

My brain clicked away at the task in hand, slowly formulating a plan of sorts. 'First, we're going to have lunch. It's going to be a long day so we should have a good meal. Also, I have stuff to tell you two.' For what's to come ahead, they needed to know about the undermarket; and by that extension, about the Breaker.

-x-x-x-x-

The Fishy Place would outlast all of us.

Booming with business at three o'clock on a Tuesday was a sure sign of a healthy enterprise. I didn't know how Montier managed it but I have never seen this place empty. As we entered the restaurant, Montier gave me an apologetic shrug, letting me know that he would not be able to personally attend to me at the moment. It took us about fifteen minutes to find a table, and another fifteen before the said table was cleaned. I had a feeling it would probably take fifteen more before our orders were taken so now felt like a good time for a story.

'This place smells really good,' said Yeon, anticipating greatly for the lunch ahead.

'It is. Trust me,' I answered.

'So you had something to tell us?' Vergil prompted, less interested in the food than his girlfriend.

'Yes. What we are doing after lunch is going to look very sketchy as hell and make you question my character...'

'Too late,' Vergil interjected with smirk. 'Ow!' he exclaimed when Yeon kicked him in the shin.

I continued as if uninterrupted, 'So I'm just going to fess up about who I am... was.' I took a moment and blurted out, 'Before coming to Beacon, I used to be a thief.'

Not even Vergil had a comment. They looked at me wide-eyed, as if taking some time to process just what they have heard.

At least they were not apprehensive. Shock, I could work with. 'Not the amateur break-into-a-house-hoping-to-find-wallets kind, by the way. I had a reputation of sorts. I used to be called the Breaker, on the account of being very good at breaking into buildings. In fact, you might say I was the best in Vale when it came to that particular talent set.

'In Vale, like in every major city in Remnant, there's a criminal underworld. It's a heavily networked society called the undermarket and I have been a part of it since I was a kid. If a thing under high security needed stealing, I was the man they called. Well, me and my partner, that is.'

'So how did you get to come to Beacon?' Yeon asked.

'I got caught in one of my heists. Professor Ozpin came for me then and offered me a spot.'

'Why did he do that?' Vergil asked this time.

'For not letting a girl die for the sake of money,' I answered.

Silence descended on the table once again.

It was Vergil who broke the silence. 'Well, if you're into making sure girls didn't die, at least I know you'll keep Yeon safe if things get too dicey. That's good enough for me.'

'You aren't doing that anymore, right?' Yeon asked.

'Stealing? No. I stopped that when I entered Beacon.' But then, stealing and being Breaker were two separate things. For some reason, the role always seemed to be thrust upon me whenever I returned to Vale.

Vergil voiced another question. 'Am I right thinking you're going to become this Breaker again? Using your shady side to figure out who our mysterious friend is?' He waved at a relatively free-looking waitress as he spoke, finally managing to capture her attention.

'Yeon was right,' I muttered, 'You are perceptive.' I turned my attention to the waitress. 'Three platter of the standard, please. The girl here's really looking forward to it.'

Once the waitress left, the huntsman resumed his questioning. 'So what're you planning, anyway? Is there a mystic spymaster you types call upon whenever you all got questions?' Vergil had no idea how accurate his statement was.

I knew calling the Broker was the fastest way to get down to the root of this entire conundrum but that was not how things worked in the undermarket. You did not call the Broker to pose a question you wanted answers to any more than you called upon the boogie monster to have a pleasant company during tea break. He was not part of the undermarket, for one thing, and was an entity one should affiliate with creatures like demigods or demons. There are many stories of those who sought his help on their own volition. They were not categorized under "happy endings".

I did not want to get involved with him at all if unless I was out of all other options.

So just like in the old days, I planned to take what I wanted. 'There are other ways to find somebody,' I told them. 'Chasing them using evidence is what the police does. I'm rather different from the police.'

Vergil grinned at that. 'Ah, wish I've met you sooner. Being around you beats training with Yeon by a mile.'

Yeon got fairly annoyed at that. 'If that's the case, Vergil, why don't you date him instead?'

'Cos then I'll be breaking your heart, petals. Your heart's far too precious to let that happen,' replied Vergil without missing a beat.

Ugh. 'You guys are making me nauseated,' I complained.

'I'm not doing anything. It's all Vergil's...' Our plates of fish and chips arrived at that moment, whisking away her next words as she admired the food. 'Oh wow. This smells incredible,' she commented, her mouth-watering.

The waitress smiled at the huntress's reaction. 'The boss worked on these himself, love. Good on you for making friends with the boss's friend.'

'Apparently so,' said Yeon, eager to start dining.

'Let's dig in,' I said. We had things to do afterwards.

-x-x-x-x-

'Ya know, for a fellow who announced himself to be going regular, yer sure behaving like the unregular sort fairly often,' said Montier as he collected the payment for the food.

'I'm not getting involved because I miss the old days, Montier. I just think there's more to this children dying business. You know this isn't some sort of epidemic.'

A frown appeared on the man's face. 'Pfft. An epidemic. Sure ain't that. Haven't gotten those since that last nasty one. Alright, Balthazar. I'll put up the ad. If someone out there really is messing with the children, well, they deserve yer attention, alright.'

'And what's that supposed to mean?' I asked, confounded.

'You've been making quite the ripple around the undermarket since you've gone huntsman, lad. I know most of Junior's men are on yer payroll for some reason. The demolished building in the harbor is said to be yer handiwork. Some of the bounty for the Identified Grimm that was on news awhile back, I think Lycan was 'sname, made its way to yer bank account. And you've been seen toting around several different girls, all o' them easy on them eyes. With all these spectacular achievements under your belts – especially last one – the marketmen who knew ya from before think yer going to Beacon ain't no retirement; it's more like an upgrade. Why do you think Burken let you walk away with that pretty faunus lass?'

An excellent question, and one I should have thought about earlier. Burken had been being unusually cooperative at the time. I had chalked it up as Fortune feeling good that day. It sounded as though it had been more than that, however.

Montier grinned as understanding dawned on me. 'Now you see yourself properly, lad. The marketmen see ya as another playmaker instead of Harmony's sidekick. What's more, they see you as quite a strong player. Keep that in mind when you make yer moves, eh lad? I don't want ya being offed 'cuz ya spat dirt at the wrong sorts of people.'

'I'll keep that in mind, Montier.'

The owner of a fish and chips restaurant nodded at my response. 'That's 'bout all I can expect, I reckon. Aight then. I'll just let this ad go around. Something like this, with dead children in the mix, I'm sure you'll get a response soonish. Maybe even today.'

I nodded back grimly. 'Yeah. Something involving dead children would definitely catch someone's attention fast.'

Had the Maker been around, something like this would never have been allowed to happen.

-x-x-x-x-

Montier was right; I did get a response soonish.

Only a few hours after my offer to purchase any information regarding the dead children was made, a message came to my scroll. It was a curt message, asking to meet in one of the less travelled streets of industrial district. The speed of the response and no mention of payment fee for the information confirmed my hunch that I was walking into something bigger than I first suspected. This did not bode well.

So here I was, on one of the building's rooftop by the dark streets of industrial district, gripped tightly in a dark mood as my imagination worked overtime to supply me with morbid explanations about what could have happened to these children. The argument I had ongoing with my two companions – who were adamantly showing that they were not marketmen material – certainly did not help.

'No. I don't know what you're planning but you can't just tell us we can't do anything no matter what happens and expect us to agree,' said Yeon, with that stubborn face I have come to recognize after having spent so much time with Lestia.

'I'm actually with petals on this one, O Shady One. Can't say I like being shackle-bound before knowing what sort of fun's coming my way,' said Vergil.

Yeon scowled at her partner's comment. 'Vergil. Could you please take this seriously? We're not fooling around here. We'll be meeting with actual criminals.' Criminals huh? I wondered if the term encompassed me as well.

'I'll be the one meeting with these criminals, thank you very much,' I corrected her. 'No offense, but you guys are more of a hindrance for what's about to happen.'

'The police should be handling this matter, not us,' Yeon protested.

I gave her an exasperated look, eyebrow raised and everything. 'Oh yeah? And exactly what are you going to tell them? That I put out an advertisement throughout the undermarket community asking if any of them knew about what's going on with the dying kids?'

That killed that protest fast. 'At least tell me what you're planning, damn it,' said Yeon, a frown creasing her features.

'Nothing really. I'm just going to talk to them. That's all.'

'You wouldn't be telling us to stay put no matter what if that's all you were planning on doing.'

I took a glance at my scroll, checking the time. There were about five minutes left before the agreed upon time; I needed to convince them fast. 'Look. I know what I'm doing. This is probably our only chance to learn about the dead children and I'll be damned before I let it slip away. If you're not going to be cooperative, I suggest you head back to Beacon,' I said. I could have said it nicer, I suppose, but time was short and my patience was getting shorter.

Yeon seemed as if she wanted to argue more but Vergil dissuaded her. His eyes met mine. 'You're in charge, mate. Just make sure you get results, yeah?'

'Yeah. I will. You guys stay here. Come out only if I start firing Fiasco. Got it?' Reluctantly, they nodded.

I left them behind, my mind whirling at what was to come ahead. Truth was, getting information from marketman was never a sure-fire thing. Sure, I might have spoken to my companions as if I had everything under control but that was nothing more than a façade. Another possibility to consider was that the person I was going to meet had no intention of being cooperative. He could have set up the meeting to snuff me out for investigating this issue. If I did not handle the situation ahead with care, there was a real chance I might end up with a bullet instead of information.

Funny; bullets did not instill fear in me like it used to. Walking into a situation that could result in gunfire was something the old Breaker would never have done. I would have turned tail and fled, expecting somebody else would fix the problem. Maybe Montier was right; I have changed.

It was five minutes past our agreed-upon time when my informant arrived. He was with a few mean-looking friends, all of them starting at me with apprehension. Using my past interactions with informants of various sorts as reference, I deduced that there was unlikely to be much information sharing here. Still, he probably knew something I would like to know. I was going to stick around for now.

'You Breaker?' said the informant, a burly fellow with tattoos covering his biceps.

Hmm. A train of thought clicked in my head. 'Nope. Mr Breaker sent me here to speak for him,' I replied. Upon hearing my answer, they visibly relaxed.

There was a bit more bravado in the informant's voice when he spoke again. 'Oh yeah? Then who're you supposed to be?' They approached me in a manner they probably thought was threatening. They might have looked a bit more intimidating if it wasn't for the fact that if I really wanted to run, they had no way to stop me.

Sadly, escape was not an option. 'I'm Mr Breaker's assistant. Mr Breaker is too busy to attend this meeting himse…' A fist clashed into my jaw.

A blow you know is coming always hurts more than the one you take by surprise. Unfortunately, the guy had been telegraphing his intention to slug me for quite a while before he actually got around doing it. Ouch.

'Wha..what are you doing? Mr Breaker will not forgive this!' I stuttered, the pain helping me stumble over my words. Another punch slammed into my abdomen, taking the breath away and bringing me to my knees.

Rest of his friends joined in, roughing me up as I curled on the floor. My old instincts came back; I made sure to absorb the blows properly so no permanent damage was done. That did not mean their kicks did not hurt, however. It still hurt. A lot.

After far too long, the blows eased. I stayed down, knowing that getting up usually invited more hits.

The informant... uhm... the assailant, approached my prone figure. 'Get up, you piece of shit. I wanna talk to you,' he barked.

I lunged forward and kneeled by his feet, grovelling as I pleaded for mercy. 'Please, don't hurt me! I don't know anything! Breaker just paid me to deliver his message!' I begged. My pitiful behaviour caused a wave of laughter among the assailant and his friends.

He whacked the side of my head so I flinched. 'Get up, you moron. I don't care about that faggot's message. I want you to give him a message instead,' he commanded.

I nodded rapidly. 'Yes, yes. Of course.'

There was a smug grin on his face as he spoke. 'Tell him to not look for the missing children. Got it? Or I'll do to him worse than what I've done to you.'

I nodded again and asked, 'Can I go now?'

'Yeah, whatever. Don't let me see you again, got it?' He waved his hand in a dismissive way. I was gone before he finished.

It was fifteen minutes before I returned to Yeon and Vergil. Just in case those goons had a spark of brain activity and tried to tail me, I took the roundabout route to where I had left the two. By then, the areas where they pummelled me – which was pretty my every part of my body – were starting to hurt. My aura was likely patching up the wounds but since it was not very strong to begin with, it was not going to complete the task anytime soon.

Yeon and Vergil were most distressed when I finally arrived.

Yeon was the more vocal of the two. 'What were you thinking? Why did you just let them hit you? Are you okay?' She started inspecting my injuries, not at all interested in the answers to her questions. I must admit: after the rough treatment, her soft hands were feeling really nice.

Vergil, however, was more interested in what I had to say than my condition. 'Well, Balthazar. I don't get impressed very often, but you sure managed it. Gotta say, I'm curious why you took that special effort to get yourself beaten up like a piñata in a festive birthday party. Would you like to share the reason with the class?'

'Because meeting him in the terms he specified was not to my advantage. I didn't really think the guy was going to give the information so easily – if at all. If I really want to get what I want, I need to get the jump on him,' I replied.

'And how does getting the living daylight smacked out of you help you in your grand scheme?' he questioned.

Although it hurt to smile, I grinned nonetheless. 'By letting me put a tracking device on my new best friend, of course.' I put forth my scroll, with a bleeping icon displayed on its screen.

-x-x-x-x-

It was three hours before he was finally alone.

About time too. Waiting was the worst thing about stakeouts. I had a few practice before to build up tolerance but my two accomplices were not as resilient to the hardships of patience.

My informant – well, soon-to-be informant, if I were to have my way – must have had some good time with his friends after we went separate ways because he was hammered to kingdom come. It was a struggle to watch him wade his way home but I needed him truly alone for what was coming ahead. That meant the privacy of his home.

Once he managed to crawl his way to bed and snored for about a good half hour, I made my move. I didn't do much, to be honest. I malfunctioned his security lock on the front door, told Yeon and Vergil to keep watch by it, headed into the bedroom where he slumbered, locked the door to make sure no interruptions happened, and shot him in the leg.

He woke up after that.

There was frantic knocking on the door, no doubt my two Beacon friends alarmed about the gunshot. I knew they would never have agreed to this so I had to leave them out of the conversation from the start. There would be a reckoning later, no doubt.

But I was done playing around.

He would have screamed for a good while if not for Fiasco's butt slamming into his temple. I did control my strength, making sure it was not hard enough to render him unconscious. Luckily for him, he got the message quite fast, shutting up immediately. His eyes widened in horror as he recognized me.

'Missed me?' I asked.

'Please... don't kill me. I will tell you everything I know,' he begged.

I nodded at his answer. 'That's the right direction to take in our new found friendship. Who knows? I might feel generous enough by the end of our conversation to not give you the second bullet I've reserved for you.' He recoiled in fear at my words, whimpering more as the movement sent another wave of pain down his leg.

'I'm bleeding. Please... stop the bleeding. I'm going to die.'

Hogwash. It takes more than that to bleed out. 'Uh uh,' I said, waving a finger. 'I make the demands here. The best you can do is to finish our talk fast enough to have time to dress your wounds. So let's start with the question number one: what is happening to the children?'

He hesitated to answer. Wrong move.

Without any warning, I stomped at his wound, wringing out another scream. The banging on the door behind me got louder and muffled shouts came from the other side of the door.

I thumbed at the door behind me. 'You hear that? They have no idea what I am doing here. Who knows, maybe they think I'm killing you.' I grabbed his collar and brought his eyes to meet mine. 'Now listen to me. One way or another, I will get to the bottom of this. Are you going to be a help or a hindrance?'

He swallowed before speaking, 'I... I work for Urn. He's my boss. I don't know what he is doing, where he is or who he hired him. He just contacts me to take away dead bodies sometimes; give them a proper funeral.'

'But these kids were left abandoned,' I said matter-of-factly.

He blanched at my words. 'Sometimes, I'm... I'm busy with my own stuff so I ask some of my underlings to do the work. They... well... there's a reason they are underlings and I'm in charge of them.'

'So the discovered bodies are result of your people being bad at their jobs?'

He nodded frantically. 'Urn said to give these kids proper funeral; said his client demanded it. He's not happy about the kids being found like that either.'

I gritted my teeth; I didn't give a Boarbatusk's ass about what Urn wasn't happy about. 'I'm not happy there are dead kids in the first place. So you mean to say there are a lot more dead children than what the news is telling us?'

He hesitated again. I considered hurting him once more but he figured out my intent before I carried it out and spilled the beans again. 'Yes. There are more kids. Were.'

'What is Urn doing with them?' I growled.

His eyes lit up with panic. 'I don't know! When he got the work from client, he took the other half of us with him! I haven't seen any of them since then! Whatever this work is, he's making sure nothing leaks out!'

A bout of rage course through my head, filling my head with all sorts of ideas about what I could do to hurt the scared man before me. I had to forcibly suppress my feelings, exercising a breathing technique to dispel the fury. It was difficult but. after a considerable period of time, I managed. When I spoke again, my voice was still calm. Perhaps too calm. 'Thank you. You've been most helpful.'

My tone scared the man more than a shout would have. His eyes darted between me and Fiasco multiple times. It was not hard to read what thought went through his head.

'Do you remember what we discussed at the start of our conversation? About our conversation ending early enough for you to tend to your wounds?' I asked softly.

He nodded, a glimmer of hope filling his eyes. 'Yes?'

'Well, I lied.' I pulled the trigger.

The man did not even have time to be terrified as the tranquilizer overloaded his system and took him away from the realm of consciousness. He looked as if he was sleeping, if you were to ignore the bleeding leg. I tore a strip of cloth from his bedsheet and bound the wounds as tightly as I could. The makeshift bandage turned crimson immediately but I knew he would live – I had shot enough legs before to know how to avoid hitting arteries or veins.

First aid done, I got up and mentally prepared myself for the earful ahead. Ugh. I wonder just how bad their reaction woul...

A sudden sense of danger emanated from the bedroom door and I tossed my body to the side. The steel-plated door flew off its hinges, soaring above the bed and lodging into the wall with a resounding **thwack**. Vergil and Yeon poured through the doorway, their weapons drawn. Yeon went straight for me – who was still on the floor – and had her kuda yari trained at my throat. Vergil went to check on the unconscious man, probably to check his life signs.

'He's just knocked out,' he said after a concise inspection.

Yeon's grip on the spear relaxed slightly but she did not pull it away. She glared me daggers. 'You went too far.'

She was probably right. Still, I did not regret my actions, only the necessity of them. 'Perhaps I did,' I retorted, 'But if I haven't, would we have figured out that a guy called Urn is behind the dead kids and that there are more victims than the few noticed by the media?' The spear point wavered.

'What are you trying to hint, chap?' Vergil asked.

'I'm saying someone is still out there with orphans doing Remnant-knows-what to them. If we don't stop them now, more bodies will turn up.'

Yeon and Vergil exchanged a glance – I figure they have done this several times today, whenever I did something they found questionable. Vergil gave a brief shake of his head. Yeon sighed softly and nodded. She then turned towards me and asked, 'so what are we doing next? Do you know where to find this Urn?'

Whatever verdict they passed on me I did not know but I recognized acquittance when I saw one. 'I don't know where he is yet but I know someone who does. But first, we should get out of here.'

Yeon lifted the spearhead away somewhat hesitantly. 'Balthazar. Please. No more of things like this. I know you're willing to do anything to get to the bottom of this but I won't let you. For Raynee's sake if not yours. Can you promise me you won't cross the line?'

Her words, after all I have shown her, were more than what I deserved. I wanted to promise her, I really did, but I knew better. So I lied through my teeth. 'I promise.' I felt wretched as I saw her trusting, believing face. I was a horrible human being.

There were a few calls I had to make.

-x-x-x-x-

'_Ah, Breaker. I was expecting this call,' _said the Broker's collected, unemotional voice.

'Did you know about this?' was the first question, and depending on its answer, it would also have been the last. To my side, Yeon and Vergil were listening in curiously.

'_Not in the sense I am satisfied in. I knew of Urn being under hire. Some details of his employment, however, eludes me. With enough time, I will unearth everything, no doubt.'_

'Some information broker you are,' I muttered.

There was a short stretch of silence. _'I will let that comment pass, Breaker, since there is some truth to your insult. However, display such level of rudeness again and I will mete out an appropriate reaction.'_

I kept my tongue still because I knew this wasn't a threat; he was giving me a warning. Instead I inquired politely, 'Where is Urn?'

'_I'm afraid you will have to find the answer to that question yourself, unless you are in the waiting mood.' _I snorted at his words._ 'Urn has been in my employment in the past and is quite familiar with my methods of data acquisition. He had taken measures to mask his traces.'_

I gritted my teeth in frustration. 'Then what can you tell me?'

'_His current employer. Her name is Mira Senetta. ex-Pygmalion R&amp;D Specialist. She had spearheaded many research regarding treatments of more invasive nature. Many of them were successful and instrumental for Pygmalion Foundation keeping its competitive edge. About a year back, she put out a notice for a service of a mercenary group. She clearly had never been involved with the undermarket prior to this moment because her trail was easy to trace. Urn responded to the job offer and they both fell off the grid ever since; until today, that is.'_

'Why would an ex-Pygmalion researcher need a group of childr...' The answer became obvious as I said it and it worsened my mood significantly.

'_I suspect the same, Breaker. I believe Mira Senetta hired Urn to assist her as she performs an unsanctioned line of research, and it utilizes children as its main test subject.'_

My mind was utterly blank, only one sentence running through it, over and over: "STOP HER."

'Balthzar?' A hand from concerned Yeon fell on my shoulder, lifting me from my haze. I shrugged it off; now was not the time for being dazed. Slowly, the hot rage moulded itself into something cold. It did not impede my thoughts anymore but honed them, made them razor sharp.

I spoke into my scroll again. 'How do I find her?'

'_I make you an offer, Breaker,' _said the Broker.

'Let's hear it,' I replied without any hesitation.

'_The Maker and I have always opposed each other but there was one thing we both agreed on; we did not condone harmful practices on the lost children of Vale. I will provide you an agent to assist you until this mission's completion. However, I expect a fee.'_

Something told me his "fee" was not simple lien. 'What is it?'

'_Once this mission is brought to its conclusion, a package will be delivered to you. You will adhere to its instructions without fail. Understood?'_

'Understood,' I replied.

And that's how I made the pact with the devil.

-x-x-x-x-

**A/N: Hoo boy. What to say first... I guess starting on why I just took off like I did.**

**After the last chpt, I knew this chapter would be the start of a major arc. I have been planning this arc for a considerable period of time and were determined to make sure not to muck it up. **

**That's when I felt as if my writing was shit.**

**Ok, shit isn't quite capturing the idea. The more accurate term would be 'inadequate'. I tried to write and write but whatever written felt as if it was not good enough. I looked at the things I wrote and things I wanted to write and could not shake off the feeling that I wasn't doing good enough.**

**Which is stupid, really, because if I were to be honest what I wanted was perfection. You can't write perfection. One of the defining trait of perfection is in its unattainability. If anyone claim otherwise, their definition of perfection requires redefining or they have worked hard and wish to be rewarded. I'm neither so I was just being stupid.**

**So I strayed from this story, dabbling in my original work ideas and whatnot. I had this story shelved in the corner of my mind, a bit out of mind but not discarded.**

**I do have a story set to the end for Balthazar, although it doesn't look like it. I don't know if I'll ever get there but I'm not about to quit just yet.**

**Anyway, I'm pretty done ranting. Cheerios.**


End file.
